Just a Friend
by Misa1124
Summary: Rogue and Remy discover how difficult it is to be 'just friends.'
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Alright, peeps. I guess you could call this an AU. There are no X-Men, no mutant powers, no guilds, no Brotherhood, no Acolytes, nothing. All I use are their names and likenesses. It's not the future story I promised but an idea that's been floating around for a while. Hopefully you all will enjoy this anyway.

**Chapter 1**

The warm June sun shone brightly on the bustling streets of New Orleans. Unfortunately, the beauty of the day was lost on the two children currently occupying the playground nestled deep within the city's illustrious Garden District.

"So, this is it, huh?" Rogue asked, sitting high atop the jungle gym.

Next to her, Remy nodded in agreement. "Yup. Our flight leaves in de mornin'."

Looking down at her dangling feet, the nine-year-old girl tried to hide the tears glittering in her sparkling green eyes behind a veil of auburn hair. "This sucks, ya know. Ah just moved here a year ago and ya have to up and move away."

Remy may have been ten years young but he couldn't miss the crack in her voice as she spoke. He looked over at his friend. "Please don' cry, Rogue. I'll be back. Poppa didn' even sell our house."

"Ah'm not cryin'. Ah'm just sad. You're like mah best friend. Ah can't really come visit when you're movin' all the way ta Paris."

"I know." All of the sad feelings he had kept so carefully blocked out were slowing starting to seep through. Ignoring it, he tried to cheer her up instead. "Hey, at least ya got Belle."

"Yeah." She looked over at Remy and smiled a comforting smile. "You're gonna miss her a lot, huh?"

It was his turn to look down at his feet. "Sometin' like dat."

In may ways it was hard to believe that Rogue had moved to New Orleans only fourteen months ago. Her mother had uprooted them from their small Caldecott County hometown to the lively city after Rogue's father had passed on. With her hefty inheritance she had purchased the house that sat directly across from Remy's and adjacent to Belle's. In two short weeks, Rogue Adler had found two great friends in Remy Lebeau and Belladonna Boudreaux. Being an only child, Rogue was delighted at the constant companionship. The three were constantly together and the park was their all-time favorite hangout. At first, Rogue had been intimidated by the other two's friendship, since they had been best friends since they were babies, but her fears were soon put to rest. Belle was the same age as Rogue and was ecstatic at having another girl around. Ever since her mom died she had been missing out on having a female friend so close to home, especially since she didn't have a sister. She now had someone to play Barbies, have sleepovers and practice dress up with. Remy was also quite happy with a new playmate and was now probably closer to Rogue than he was with Belle. Not many kids lived in their wealthy neighborhood. The only other ones were Belle's older brother, Julien and his own older brother, Henri. Often times the older boys left him behind because he was five years their junior and Belle disliked a lot of outdoor activities. Rogue, on the other hand, had just as much fun doing 'boy stuff' as she did 'girl stuff'. As a result, Belle was relieved of going fishing while Remy didn't have to sit through any more girly tea parties.

Despite the lack of interest in Belle's ideas of fun, Rogue noticed that Remy did have a blatant interest in Belle. When they were all together he would tease her mercilessly, much to Belle's frustration. The poor girl simply didn't see what his motive behind it all was. Rogue, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was doing and called him on it. The comfort of having someone to talk about it with made it too hard for him to deny, that and fact that he turned the brightest shade of red she had ever seen on a person. She didn't mind when Remy went on for hours about how pretty Belle's violet eyes were or how happy he was when she let him hold her hand to school. In fact, Rogue had made it her secret mission to get them together but her plans had been thwarted when Remy announced his imminent move. His father had been appointed to head up the overseas office of the trading company he worked for and had no doubts about taking his family with him.

"Where is Belle anyway?" Remy asked.

"She should be back soon. Her dad just took her ta buy new clothes for summer and they left real early this mornin'."

Remy looked puzzled. "She didn' invite y' along?"

"She did, but Ah told her that Ah wanted ta hang out with ya since you're gonna be leaving."

He smiled a genuine smile. "T'anks, Rogue." Pausing for a moment he continued, "I'm gonna miss y' a lot, too, ya know."

Rogue didn't really know how to respond so she stayed quiet. Both sat in a less than peaceful silence until it was broken by the sound of heels on pavement.

"Hi guys!" Belle greeted in her trademark cheery tone. She was quite dressed up for a day in the park. New, shiny black mary janes adorned her feet over ruffled white ankle socks. A sleeveless, baby blue sundress reached to her knees and exposed her nicely tanned arms. "Like m'new dress?"

Rogue nodded in affirmation. "It's real pretty. Ya look like a princess." And she did compared to her own simple shorts and T-shirt.

"Yeah, real pretty," Remy echoed.

Belle daintily stepped into the sand pit that housed the towering jungle gym. Looking up at her friends she asked, "What do y' wan' do now?"

"I was t'inkin we could jus' play in de park t'day, just like always." Remy replied, slowly climbing down to her level.

Belle frowned. "I don' wan' get my new dress dirty."

"We could play on the swings," Rogue suggested. "An' Remy can push ya real high like always. Then we can play hopscotch or somethin' or watch a movie at mah house. Mah mom's makin' a goodbye dinner for Remy anyway."

Remy's ears perked up at the mention of dinner. "What she makin'?"

"Ah'll give ya three guesses but ya only need one."

"Cajun spiced fried chicken wit' cornbread and hot apple pie wit' ice cream?" he asked, hopeful.

Rogue laughed as she climbed down. "Only 'cause it's your favorite." She jumped the short distance to the ground. "Come on. First one ta the swings gets the biggest slice of pie!" With that the three raced off, the heartache of Remy's departure momentarily forgotten.

* * *

After the delicious dinner, Remy offered to walk Belle home. They had all decided to go to bed early since Remy would be leaving for the airport at five in the morning and they all wanted to be awake for the final good bye. The two held hands as soon as they were out the door and instead of going directly to Belle's front door, they took a detour into her backyard and climbed into the large tree house that her father had built for her and her brother.

"So, are y' excited 'bout movin'?" Belle asked as she gingerly took a seat on the ground.

Remy followed her example. "Dunno. Gonna miss it here a lot."

"Yeah. It's gonna be diff'rent wit'out y' here. I'm glad Rogue came or else I'd be all alone."

"Yeah, me, too. I'm really gonna miss y' bot'."

"I'm really gonna miss y', too." Her eyes lit up with a sudden thought. "Hey! Maybe we can email each ot'er!"

"Yeah! I can get m'dad to show me how. I can get my own email address!"

"Yeah! An' I can get Rogue to show me! She's real smart wit' all dat computer stuff! I t'ink she has her own email address already. I can use hers 'til I get my own email!"

Remy smiled. "Dis is gonna be so cool. It'll almost be like talkin' t' each ot'er."

"Yeah," Belle said softly. Then, without warning, she hugged him. He held on to her in return. Soon he could feel her tears soaking into his shoulder.

"Aw, Belle. Don' cry."

She pulled back, wiping away her tears. "M'sorry. I jus' hate good byes."

"I know. But hey, I'll be back. Dat's still our house across de street. We'll still be neighbors."

"I know." She smiled at him. "T'anks for always bein' a good friend." She hugged him again briefly.

"Y', too. Come on. We need to get to bed."

They climbed down the tree house and Remy waited until Belle was inside before trotting home. He went straight to his room and closed the door. Flopping onto his bed, he reached out and grabbed the phone. Dialing quickly, he waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" It was Rogue's mom.

"Hi, Miss Adler. Dis is Remy. Is Rogue free?"

"Hello, Remy. Yes, Rogue is right here. Hold on a sec."

Remy waited for Rogue to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Rogue."

"Hey. What's up?"

"I was jus' wonderin' if it would be okay for me to write to Belle on y'r email address 'til she can get one?"

"Don' be silly! O'course she can! That's what friends are for!"

Remy sighed in relief. "Great. T'anks, Rogue. I'll see y' in de mornin'?"

"Bright an' early!"

"Okay den. Have a good night."

"Good night!"

"Bye." He hung up the phone and lay on the bed. Content that he would be able to talk to Belle he closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. After a moment his eyes flew open and he reached for the phone again.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Miss Adler. Dis is Remy again. Is Rogue still dere?"

"Hello again, Remy. Yes, Rogue is still here. One moment."

Sitting up he waited for Rogue's voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's me again. I was wonderin' if I could email y', too?"

"O' course! Don' worry about it. Just get some sleep."

"Okay. T'anks again, Rogue."

"You're welcome. Have a good night."

"Good night. Bye."

Hanging up once more he laid back down. Now fully satisfied with being able to keep in touch he drifted off to a nice deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning, the three friends stood off to one side saying their last good byes while their parents idly chatted with one another. Henri was waiting in the car, fast asleep, while Julien didn't even bother getting up. Rogue's mom was getting the new address from Remy's mom while Belle's father was laughing at an old memory that Remy's father had mentioned. After the initial pleasantries were made, the seriousness of the situation finally took hold. The two fathers shared a manly hug, complete with the customary pat on the back.

"Y' take care o' dat little girl. She be like a daughter to me," Jean-Luc Lebeau told Belle's father.

"I will. Y' do de same for dose boys o' yr's. Dere bot' gonna be heartbreakers one day," Marius replied.

Jean-Luc nodded and moved on to Rogue's mom when she was finished with her good byes to his wife. Gracing her cheeks with two kisses he told her, "It's been a pleasure bein' y'r friends. Dat little Rogue y' got dere is a pure sweetheart. Y' take care o' each ot'er now."

Miss Adler laughed. "Don't ya go worryin' about us. We'll be fine. Y'all take care of yourselves over in Paris."

"We will, _chére_." Looking over at the children he called out to his son. "Remy! It's time to go, _mon fils_."

"Coming, Poppa!" Turning back to the girls, he hugged each one in a tight embrace. "Bye. Don' forget to write," he reminded Belle.

"I won'," she promised. He turned and started to walk away. After a few steps he turned back around and ran back up to Belle, planting a small kiss on her cheek before scurrying back to the car. Belle held her cheek in surprise while Rogue chuckled at the impromptu turn of events. Remy's parents also made they way to the car and slowly drove off with everyone else calling out their final farewells behind them.

* * *

About two months after Remy's departure, Rogue finally received an email from him. Actually, the email was for Belle, as the subject indicated. Respecting her friends' privacy, she ran over to Belle's and to tell her the good news. Belle opened the front door and Rogue grabbed her hand to try and pull her out.

"Come on, Belle! Remy wrote ya his first message! Ya gotta read it!" Rogue urged.

Belle pulled her hand out of her friend's. "I can' right now. Today is m'first day at dance school, 'member?"

Realization cross Rogue's face. "Oh yeah. Ah totally forgot."

"It's okay." Belle smiled. "Why don' y' read it for me an' tell me 'bout it later? I'll come over an' see you."

Rogue immediately brightened. "Okay! Have fun at dance!"

"T'anks! Bye!"

Rogue ran back over to her house and straight to the computer. She clicked on the email from Remy and started reading in earnest.

_Dear Belle,_

_How are you doing? I am doing okay. It took poppa a long time to get my address but I got one. Paris is very nice but we don't have a nice park near our house like we did over there. Sometimes Henri takes me to a park but it's not the same. I miss you. Our new house is very nice and there is a cool boy living next door. His name is Scott Summers and he is really smart. His dad works with my dad. They just moved here last month. Me and him are going to go to the same school. He said it is an American school so that we don't have to talk in French. How is Rogue? How is Julien? How is your dad? Write me back and tell me how things are over there. This is my email address._

_Say hi to Rogue for me. Write soon._

_Remy_

Rogue was very happy to learn that Remy was doing well. Playtime wasn't the same with him gone. While she still hung out with Belle, the other girl had become busier and Rogue found herself missing Remy's company more and more often. She quickly put his new email address in her address book and logged off the computer. Looking at the clock, she figured that Belle wouldn't be home for another two hours so she decided to read a book to pass the time.

After the two hours had passed, Rogue logged back onto her computer and re-opened Remy's email. She read it again and decided to write him an email, too.

_Dear Remy,_

_I am glad that you got to Paris safe. Your new friend Scott sounds real nice. Things are still the same here. I'm sorry you don't have a park by your house. It is very nice of Henri to take you to one. It is very warm here so sometimes we go swimming. We miss having you there with us. It's good that you don't have to go to a French school. That would be real hard. Well, that's all for now. Write back soon._

_Rogue_

Just as she finished typing her name, there was a knock at the door. She yelled to her mom that she was going to get it and ran over to open it.

"Hi Belle! Come in!"

Belle had a huge smile on her face as she walked on the door. "Hi Rogue! I had so much fun at dance today! We learned all kinds of steps!"

"That's great! Did you want to read the email now?"

"Um, why don' y' tell me what it said while I show y' what I learned?"

"Okay!"

They went up to Rogue's room. Belle turned on the radio and started dancing while Rogue told her everything that Remy had wrote. Rogue finished talking before Belle ended was finished and was content to watch her friend complete her steps.

"Wow. I really like dancing. I'm gonna go home an' practice some more!"

"But, Belle, don't ya want to email Remy back? He really misses ya." Rogue asked, confused.

Belle nodded. "I do but I want t'practice right now. Can y' write him back for me? I can' type real good anyway."

"Ah suppose . . ."

"T'anks, Rogue! Talk to y' later!" Belle gave Rogue a quick hug before hurrying out of the house.

Rogue sighed. She walked back over to the computer and looked at the unsent email that was still on the screen. Sitting down she continued to stare at the screen and thought about what to write from Belle. After a moment she came to a decision. Quickly she deleted her name at the bottom of the unsent message and typed in Belle's name instead. She clicked send and shut down the computer after the 'message sent' alert appeared.

Ah'll just write him when he writes me. He wrote the email to Belle anyway and Ah know it would really make him happy if she wrote back right away, she rationalized. Content with her actions she went to go finish reading the book she had started earlier.

Like it? Hate it? Don't hesitate to speak your mind!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. And since I didn't mention it earlier, the basis for the plot is taken from a foreign film I watched. I have majorly tweaked it to fit our cultural differences.

**Chapter 2**

_Dear Belle,_

_It's hard to believe that I've been here for eight years now. The time has passed by so fast. School starts up again next week and I will officially be a senior. We had orientation last week and Scott and I have only two classes together but that's okay. Thank God I don't have any classes with Genevieve. We broke up last night. Yes, I did do the dumping but before you say anything I did have a better reason than 'her laugh sounded like nails on a chalkboard.' It was because her laugh sounded like a pack of dying hyenas. Kidding. Actually, it turns out she only wanted to date me because my family has money. Henri's girlfriend, Mercy, overheard her talking about it last week, how she planned on having me buy all this crap for her because she supposedly had me wrapped around her pinky finger. Pinky finger my ass. I don't have the broken heart. Sometimes I wonder about girls over here. I can't seem to find anyone who's interested in more than clothes and money. So what's up with you and the new guy, Warren was it? He sounds nice. His father's company is very well known. He sounds a lot better than that Bobby guy you dated. Is it okay to call him a goof now? I mean, he was nice and all but he seemed too immature for you. Sometimes I can't believe you actually spent two years with that guy. At least that Cody guy did better by you. Too bad he had to move away, though. How did that summer French class go for you? I bet you aced it since your father speaks it so often. My teachers say my French is nearly flawless. I guess it helps that I hear it so much at home. I read that book, The Great Gatsby, that you suggested and, you were right, I did enjoy it. Not to mention that it's a great conversation starter. I met a really cute girl while I was reading it the other day at the café. Turns out she had just finished reading it, too. :) I felt really bad for Gatsby, having his dream shattered. Daisy kind of reminded me of Genevieve, she only cared about the money in the end. Got any other book recommendations? Let me know. Well, I guess that's all for now. Write back soon. Later._

_Remy_

_Dear Remy,_

_I know, it is hard to believe it's been that long. I guess that's because we've been writing each other so often over the years. In some ways, it's like you never left. I remember like it was yesterday how we used to go out and play in the park. Now we're dating and driving and going through all of that high school drama. Sorry to hear about Genevieve but I'm glad you found out about her before it was too late. Don't worry; I'm sure the girls will be knocking down your door once they all find out that you're on the market again. :) Was her laugh really that bad, though? That sounds kind of harsh. Anyhow, Warren is a nice guy but we're not dating exclusively. We hung out off and on over the summer. He's a lot of fun to be around but can be a bit boring at times. And don't slam Bobby too much. At least Bobby knew how to make me laugh sometimes. He was pretty immature but what do you expect? It wasn't until sophomore year that I realized he was not my type. I put that as part of my brainless freshman phase. Don't laugh at me either. I remember what brainless ideas you came up with your freshman year. I still can't believe you thought it was okay to get a girl's attention by snapping her bra strap against her back. It's a wonder that you ever became the insanely popular ladies' man. Will wonders never cease? Glad to hear that Henri is still with his girl. From what you have said, she sounds real nice. The summer French class went great. It was pretty easy but I learned a lot. Probably could have used your help a couple of times. So you're a big, bad senior now, huh? Must be nice. Thought about any colleges yet? Glad I can put that thought off for another year. So you enjoyed Gatsby? I thought you might. It wasn't as boring as some of the books you told me you had to read. Right now I'm tuned into the Harry Potter craze. They're pretty good books, if you're into that whole fantasy stuff. Well, I guess that's all for now. I got a part time job and today's my first day. Wish me luck!_

_Belle_

_Rogue,_

_You still out there, girl? Haven't really heard from you over the past year. I know you get the update about me from Belle but I'd still like to know how you're doing. I miss you, too, you know. Drop me a line sometime. I don't bite. At least not too hard :)_

_Remy_

_Hey Remy,_

_Sorry for not writing sooner. Things have been hectic here lately with school and activities and such. I'm doing fine and my mom couldn't be better. Nothing's really changed much since I last wrote; I'm just extremely busy. Good to hear you've made it to your senior year. Well, I'm going to have to keep this one short since I'm running short on time but I'll try to write more soon. Bye!_

_Rogue_

* * *

Rogue sighed as she shut down her email. She had an hour before she had to be at work. Getting up from her chair, she wandered over to her closet, trying to figure out what to wear on her first day at work. As she stood looking at her selection, her mind, too, also began to wander. For what seemed like the trillionth time over the past eight years, she wondered if she was being a good friend to both Remy and Belle. Unbeknownst to both of her childhood friends, she had been the one posing as Belle in the emails for the past eight years. She wasn't even sure why she continued to do so. Shortly after Rogue had posed for Belle the first time all those years ago she had taken the liberty of creating a separate email account for her. She relayed the information to both Belle and Remy but Belle still seemed resistant to the whole idea of writing, despite her promise. After three unanswered emails from Remy and a heart wrenching, 'why won't she write me' letter from Remy to Rogue, the native Mississippian couldn't take it anymore and decided to just keep posing as Belle. She had reasoned that it would at least keep Remy happy and Belle would just thank her later on when they both realized they were meant to be together.

During the first few years, Remy had maintained a close contact with Rogue as well. The letters were not as detailed and insightful as the one's written to Belle, but he had acknowledged her nonetheless. After a while, Rogue found it was quite difficult to keep up with all of the writing and gradually fazed out the frequency at which Remy received letter from the real her. He had protested greatly but had no choice but to get used to it.

At first, Rogue had no problem pretending to be Belle. After all they were best friends. As they grew older, and the girls saw each other less and developed differing personalities, it became increasingly difficult to play the part. Eventually, Rogue began to blend her 'Belle' persona with her own life. It was too hard to just start making things up, especially since Remy had the tendency to reference them later on. Besides, she rather liked having someone else as her sounding board and it was too late to try and start writing him again under her own name.

She and Belle had remained good friends since Remy's departure. They still attended the same schools and hung out with the same group of friends. The only thing that had changed was the frequency with which they were able to see one another. Belle was easily the most popular girl at school with her bouncy blond hair, violet-blue eyes and dramatically magnetic personality. You couldn't help but like her. She said hi to everyone and hated no one. After that first dance class she had taken all those years ago she had grown addicted to it and then added singing to her repertoire. At school she was captain of the cheerleading squad and earned all of the lead roles in the school drama productions. She dated all of the popular guys and threw the best parties. Currently she was on the arm of James Baque, the star of their championship football team.

Rogue was Belle's right hand girl, but nowhere near as limelight loving. She was more laid back and demure, letting her natural beauty attract the attention her lack of flamboyance didn't. People were drawn to her sassy, 'take no shit' demeanor and the underlying sweetness displayed to close friends. According to Belle, she was the perfect blend of school smart, street smart and smart-ass.

Pulling a pair of pants and a shirt from her closet, she continued to mull over the comments Remy had made about Warren, Bobby and Cody. Remy had never really liked Bobby, that much she could tell, even though she tried to make him sound like a decent guy. He was her first real boyfriend and always lots of fun. However, Rogue needed someone who she could be serious with sometimes and Bobby was anything but. They realized that they would make better friends and that's what they've remained ever since. Her relationship with Warren was practically nonexistent. They dated casually but she didn't really feel anything for him except for friendly affection. And then there was Cody. He could only be classified as 'the one that got away.' Rogue had been very good friends with him since the start of junior high. Somewhere along the line she developed a huge crush on him and didn't know that he had felt the same way in return. It wasn't until the night before Cody moved to California were feelings shared but by then it was too late. Now she could only wonder about what might have been.

Shaking her head, she tried to clear her head of all thoughts. This is not helpin' me get ready. She looked at her clock. Twenty-five minutes had already passed. Great. The last thing Ah need it to be late the first day. She quickly changed her clothes and ran out to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

* * *

Remy closed his email, a small frown slightly marring his handsome features. Rogue had finally wrote him a note, complete with its trademark shortness. Oh well, he thought. At least Belle wrote. He couldn't help but smile at that. He had always liked her. Growing up together made her an easy target for his childhood crush. After he moved, his feelings had waned a bit, especially since she didn't start writing to him right away. But when she started up again and they kept up regular correspondence, he realized that she really was a great girl. Over the past couple of years, he had realized that Belle was the type of person he could picture himself being with. Sure, he dated a lot of girls, he was a good-looking guy, he couldn't help it, but after a while none of them measured up to his standards. The more he got to know Belle, the more he wanted someone like her and the more he wanted someone like her, the harder it was to find a girl who had all the same qualities.

He sighed a picked up a nearby picture frame. In it was an old picture of him, Belle, and Rogue, taken one Halloween. They had decided on being pirates but Belle changed her mind at the last minute and came as a princess. Both him and Rogue had been quite mad at the change but in the end it had been a fun night. Continuing to look at the photo, his brows furrowed in thought. Belle had mentioned that she needed to get ready for her job. As much as he loved Belle, she never struck him as the type to want to earn her own money. She was her father's princess and every bit as prissy, if the photo was of any evidence.

"What are you staring at so hard?"

Remy looked up to see Scott standing in his doorway. "M'not starin'. Jus' t'inkin'."

Scott walked over to Remy and plucked the frame from his hands. Examining the picture for himself, he asked, "What about this picture has got you thinking?" Before Remy could answer Scott continued talking. "No, wait. Let me take a _wild_ guess. Belle right?"

Remy noticed the amusement twinkling in his best friend's eye. "Ha, ha. Very funny."

"Ah, so I was right," Scott proclaimed, sitting down on the bed, frame still in hand. "So what about her? Did you finally grow a backbone and tell her you've been carrying a torch for her for the past eight years?"

It was Remy's turn to smirk. "Y' see, _homme_? Dat's de reason why y' don' got a girl. A true gentleman doesn't profess his feelings over de email. Dat's somethin' y' gotta do in person. 'Sides, shouldn' y' be lookin' in de mirror when y' say dat?"

"Oh, didn't you hear? In about seven months Jean and Duncan will be proud parents. I guess you could say I'm back on the market now."

"Damn, didn' see dat one comin'. T'ought Jeannie was smarter den dat."

"Yeah, your telling me." He looked at the picture again. "Have you heard from Rogue lately?"

"_Oui_, jus' got an email from her today."

"I swear, she's got to have the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen. Even better than Jean's. And this is a photo. I wonder what they look like in real life? I bet she's turned out really hot."

"Hey now, _homme_, jus' cause we ain't tight no more don' mean y' can be usin' her as some kinda rebound girl after findin' out y' unrequited love jus' got knocked up. Still consider her one of m' best friends."

"Oh, come on. What kind of guy do you take me for? I'm not like that. Besides, I was just admiring the view."

"Yeah, an' entertainin' some twisted perverted fantasy 'bout her, too. Y' sick, y' know dat?"

"Okay, one, I am not entertaining some twisted perverted fantasy. I have absolutely no idea what she looks like. And, two, the only reason why I would ever be considered sick is due to the eight years of overbearing influence you have over me. And to think I could have turned out to be a nice guy."

"'Kay, I'm gonna ignore dat crack 'cause y'r broken heart has made y' temporarily mentally unstable. On top o' dat, if my influence was as 'overbearin'' as y' say it is, den Jeannie would be wit' y' and not burdenin' de world wit' anot'er Duncan," snapped Remy.

"Ouch, score one for Remy. I'm going to feel that one for a while," Scott said, dejected.

Remy immediately softened. He didn't mean for the teasing to go that far. "Hey, _homme_, I'm sorry. Dat was outta line. Y' deserve way better den Duncan's sloppy seconds. I bet y' and Rogue would be great toget'er. I'm jus' protective of her, dat's all. Look, whenever I go back to N'awlins I'll take you wit' me and introduce y' to her."

"Thanks, Remy. Despite your bad influence I still think you're a great friend." He smiled to show he was kidding. "I came over to see if you wanted to check out that new club downtown. You game?"

"Hell yeah!" Jumping out of his seat, Remy walked over to his full-length mirror and checked his appearance.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Could you be any more conceited?"

"Don' hate me 'cause I'm beautiful." Once satisfied, Remy headed out the door, Scott following behind.

* * *

Belle walked into the ritzy boutique and looked around. After perusing the racks and picking up a few items, she took her garments and walked over to one of the sales clerks. "Excuse me, I'm meetin' my boyfriend's parents for de first time. Do you t'ink dis is appropriate?"

The sales clerk turned around to see Belle holding a fire engine red leather lace up corset, complete with a neck strap, garter clips and a red leather g-string. Wrinkling her brow in thought, the clerk asked, "Is this goin' ta be an intimate dinner?"

"_Oui._"

The clerk smiled. "Well, as pretty as that is, Ah would strongly recommend this garment over here." She held up a lavender ensemble. The bra, if you could call it that, was without the normal bra cups and instead replaced with two small lacy butterflies. The string bikini style underwear was also made to look like a butterfly and Belle noticed that it was crotchless. "The color compliments your eyes very well an' gives off a softer, more feminine look. Paired with the matchin' lace gloves an' strappy stilettos, your boyfriend's parents should be quite impressed with your look."

Belle looked at the sales clerk for a moment before she burst out laughing. "_Mon Dieu,_ girl! Y' can sell anyt'ing! For a moment dere I almost believed y'."

Rogue smiled. "Ya shoulda seen me earlier. Ah sold four of them things right there," she gestured to the red outfit Belle was holding, "to a group of college girls, a complete honeymoon wardrobe to Becca's sister, the belly dancer outfit to Jacques for his girl and this little number here to Mrs. Miranda."

"But she's-"

"Ah know." She smiled and returned the underwear to the rack. "So what ya doin' here? Looking for somethin' to entice James?"

"Please," Belle scoffed. "When y' look at good as me, y' don' need lingerie t' entice y'r man."

"Oh, Ah'm sorry. Ah forgot that ya are God's gift to men. When Belle came out they broke the mold."

"Y' know it. So how much is dis?"

"Ya know, when Rick James wrote 'Superfreak' he was definitely thinking about ya. Remind me t'tell all the mom's out there to lock up their sons the next time your single."

"Says de girl who works at de kinky lingerie shop."

"Comments like that will get ya no where near my discount."

"I'm quakin' in m'heels. Seriously, t'ough, I came in for some fishnets for m'show."

"Oh, those are over there. Follow me."

They strolled across the store. "So, why y' workin' anyway? We're rich," Belle inquired.

"Ah know but it's the independent streak in me. Ya know Ah hate askin' for money. Besides, it's great business experience."

Belle smiled. "O' course. Rogue, our own little career girl. On o' dese days I'm gonna get ya t'stop an' smell de roses." Rogue noticed that Belle was no giving her a sideways glance. "Speakin' o' roses, how's Warren?"

"Last Ah heard he was still yachtin' with his dad on the Catalina Islands."

"I heard it t'rough de grapevine dat he sent you two dozen roses."

"Yeah, fire and ice roses."

"Y'r favorite." Belle turned towards her friend, hands on her hips. "Okay, what's wrong wit' him?"

Rogue sighed. "Nothing is wrong with him. He's a really nice guy."

"Buuut," Belle prompted.

"But, well, he's kinda boring. We get along great an' all, but at some point a girl has got to get tired of hearin' about stocks and mergers. Instead of goin' to the movies, he wants to go to the museum. Why eat pizza when ya can have lobster? And he doesn't watch football! What kind of man is that?"

"Poor, poor, Rogue," Belle cooed, patting her friend's arm, "still has no appreciation for de finer t'ings in life."

"Hey, Ah will gladly do without the pâté and filet mignon. Nothing beats fried chicken and cornbread anyway. Ya know me, Belle. Ah'm simple. Ah like someone who isn't too good to watch a movie or go dancing. Someone who reads the books Ah do so we can talk about it. Someone who appreciates football and pizza."

"Someone like Cody?"

Rogue frowned. "Yeah."

"Don' worry, girl. Y' will find that special someone. Who knows? Y' probably already know 'em an' it's jus' a matter of time. Until den, have fun! Let's go out tonight. Me an' you. I t'ink dat new dance club is callin' our names."

"Okay."

"Great!" Belle grabbed the stockings and walked toward the cash register. "I'll pick y' up at nine!" She called over her shoulder.

Rogue could only smile.

_

* * *

_

Dear Remy,

_My first day of work was great. My manager said I made the most sales. How was your day? I hope it went well. I went out dancing last night and had a blast. They opened up a new club here in town and since the owner knows us he let us in. I think you would like it there. The music they played was pretty good and the drinks are priced fairly. Warren called me today to make sure I received his flowers. He sent me two dozen fire and ice roses. I thought it was very sweet of him. Too bad I don't think that anything is going to happen between us. He's just not my type. Can you believe he doesn't like fried chicken?! Or cornbread?! And he refuses to go to the movies. He said when he gets back from his vacation he wants to take me to the opera. No, not the Phantom of the Opera type show either. Just some guy singing for like two hours. Ugh. Well, I have to run for now. I promised my friends that we'd all go school shopping together. Have fun!_

_Belle_

_Dear Belle,_

_Glad to hear about your job. My day yesterday was okay. Scott was down because the girl he has liked for the past three years got pregnant by her boyfriend. We went dancing to try and get his mind off of the whole thing. I picked up one of those Harry Potter books you were talking about this morning. So far it's pretty good. It's similar to the movie but more detailed. So Warren is a no go, huh? Too bad for him. What kind of guy doesn't like fried chicken anyway? I know I could go for some of Mrs. Adler's Cajun fried chicken and cornbread right now. You're lucky you can get that whenever you want. But, yeah, this Warren guy sounds a little dry. How could he not like movies? It's entertainment. I swear, some people feel that being rich puts you above things like that. At least I still appreciate a simple movie dinner date. At least he bought you your favorite roses, though. You got something good out of the deal. Anyhow, me and Scott have practice so I'll write you later. Take care and don't break his heart. :)_

_Remy_

* * *

So, yeah, I fast-forwarded the story pretty far but I felt it was necessary. Sorry about the long delay.I had the whole story all played out in my head and when I went to write it I realized that one specific element didn't work and threw the whole story off. So, back to the drawing board I went. Hopefully, this chapter came out okay. Thanks to all the readers who are been waiting for me to get my butt in gear and write more. I can't promise fast updates because I finally got a new job and in a week I will officially be stepping into the 'real world' for eight hours a day. However, I do plan on finishing this story and writing more. That's all for now. Thanks for the reviews. Happy reading!

Rogue Warrior Spirit – Thanks for the compliments. I'll do my best to make this story worth your reading!

Panther Nesmith – What better way to have her learn than to actually be there?

Stripes – Thank you!

Pookie Sanchez – Definitely.

Christy S – Not much happening in this chapter but stay tuned!

Girl Number 1 – Whoa! Thanks for all the ideas. Remember, though, this is an AU and I'm trying to keep the number of characters to a minimum. I'll keep your thoughts in mind. Hope you enjoy what happens!

Rilo - blushes Thanks!

Sash – Trust me, I'm doing my best to try and figure out how to sort this out ;)

Neurotic Temptress – Your intuition is uncanny. Is there anyway to surprise you? :)

Carla-p – Hope this turns out to your liking!

Barbara Ruiz – I'm working on that ASAP part . . .

Ishandahalf – Don't worry. I'm trying really hard to be nice to them this time around.

- Don't spoil the fun! ;) I think you've caught my drift.

Rogue Star – Don't worry. I think you'll catch on soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Rogue looked at the envelope in her hands. How did that saying go? If it was a big envelope then you got in, and if it was small, it was a polite way of saying you weren't good enough? She continued to scrutinize the object in her hands. It was an ordinary letter envelope, yet a bit thicker than most letters. Maybe they list out the reasons why they rejected a person.

"Looking at that won't change what's written inside."

She looked up to see her mom standing in her bedroom doorway and smiled a bit. "Ah know. Just don't want to be disappointed is all." She glanced at the New York University name and logo emblazoned across the top of the envelope. This was her first choice school, boasting of a top-notch business program that held strong ties to New York's vigorous business front runners. Plus, New York was a far cry from home. It was too far to visit often but only a day's drive away and even less by plane. This would be her opportunity to get out of the south and see what else the world had to offer.

"Rogue, the suspense is stifling. Please open your letter before I do it myself."

She looked at her mother sheepishly as she slowly tore open the flap. Pulling out the papers within, she unfolded them carefully and read aloud. "Dear Ms. Adler. We are pleased to welcome you to New York University." Rogue continued reading the entire letter as her mother came and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"You did it! I'm so proud of you," Irene whispered in her daughter's ear.

"Thank you, Momma. Ah can't believe Ah got in."

"Why not? You've certainly worked hard enough."

It was true, she had. She possessed the fourth highest GPA in school, maintained a part time job, and still found time to sit on the student council and earn a starting position on the girls' basketball team. Fortunately, all of her efforts had paid off.

Irene walked back over to the door. "Will you be eating in tonight? I'm making Cajun fried chicken for dinner."

"Sure, Momma. Sounds great."

Irene smiled and called out her congratulations once more as she traveled back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Rogue could hardly suppress her excited smile as she sat at her desk and flipped on her computer.

* * *

Remy tossed his heavy backpack in the corner and dropped onto the bed. 'Whoever said that college was the best years of y' life was a moron,' he thought as he flopped down. Groaning loudly he closed his eyes and rubbed his head with the heels of his hands. He had just finished his first round of midterms and his head was throbbing. He had crammed all week for the tests but felt somewhat confident that his studying had paid off. Five minutes later he was still in the same position as Scott entered the room.

"You finished the test pretty quickly. What did you think of it?"

"I t'ink y'r breakin' de rule."

Rule? Right. It was Friday. All of their classes were done for the week. No talking about school until Monday morning.

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you." He looked over at his friend and roommate. "You look like hell."

"T'anks."

"You know, . . ."

Remy sat up quickly. "_Non_. Don' even say it. I know what y'r t'inkin'. Y' say it every time we have midterms, finals, whatever. And, no, y'r not right. So, stop bein' a mom and offer t' take me out tonight."

Scott made a face. "What am I? Your boyfriend?"

"No way. If we were datin' I would mos' definitely be de man in de relationship," Remy replied, completely serious.

"Always have to have the last word in." Scott merely shook his head.

He couldn't really complain, though. He and Remy had been friends for years and their bantering was second nature. Sure, Remy had the tendency to take things a bit too far and at times it was difficult to tell if he was joking, but that's what made him Remy. He remembered how excited they were when both had been accepted to the same college. They didn't plan on doing so but it worked out anyway. Now here they were, two months into their second semester of college at the prestigious New York University sharing a cramped dorm room.

Looking back over at Remy, he noticed that his friend had flopped back down on the bed, eyes shielded by the arm draped across his face. I told him that partying and studying don't mix well. He refrained from addressing the issue further, though, because, as Remy had already stated, it was against the rules and he did remind him of the error of his ways every time they had midterms. Instead he opted for a change in subject. "Still up for your date tonight? You only have a couple of hours to get ready."

Remy found it hard to suppress the low chuckle. "If y' mean am I gonna bail on my blind double date wit' y', den no. Y' been buggin' me 'bout dis de whole week."

"Trust me, I am truly grateful. Emma is definitely worth it."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, getting up. "Jus' remember dat when I come collectin'." He moved over to his desk and plopped down on the chair, his computer already up and running. Logging on to the Internet, he checked his email. A slow grin spread across his face as he looked at his new messages. He hadn't heard from Rogue since Christmas. Clicking open her email he was a bit surprised. It was much longer than her normal four-sentence greetings. After reading the first line, though, he could see why she had so much to say. "Well, _homme,_" he said aloud as to address Scott,"it looks like y'r gonna get y'r chance to meet 'de girl wit' de most beautiful green eyes y' ever seen' after all.

Scott, who had been leaning back in his chair to get a better view of the television, nearly fell over. "What did you say?"

"Rogue. She got accepted here. She gon' be here next semester."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yeah." Remy continued reading, muttering to himself as he went along. "She'll be movin' up here in August when de dorms open up again. . . Damn . . . her mom's makin' our favorite dinner t' celebrate . . . dat's so unfair . . . takin' up business . . ."

Scott continued to half listen as he refocused his attention on the television, knowing Remy would be preoccupied for the next hour, at least. Despite knowing his best friend for close to ten years now, he could still be an enigma. A self-proclaimed ladies' man, Remy never had a free night unless he scheduled one in. When they had gotten to college, girls threw themselves at him in the dozens. He never failed to come home with at least two dates for the weekend and at least four new numbers. In fact, the situation had been the same in high school. If it were anyone else, this type of behavior wouldn't have bothered Scott in the slightest. He could care less about how other people lived their lives as long as it didn't affect him.

But he knew it was all a cover up.

His gaze traveled to Remy's side of the room and the small bookcase leaning against the wall. _The Great Gatsby. _The complete Harry Potter series to date. _Gone With the Wind. Hamlet. Brave New World. _Various books on Greek mythology.

Unbeknownst to the outside world, the all mighty Remy Lebeau was secretly pining for a girl.

Scott couldn't blame him, really. Belle sounded like a person he would be interested in. He had read some of her emails and gotten to know her through Remy. She was very smart and intelligent and her winning personality couldn't help but show through her writings. She and Remy bonded over many things: books, movies, sports, their general outlook on life. The only thing that Scott didn't understand was why they continued to communicate over email. Now that they were stateside, it wouldn't be too difficult to just talk on the phone. Not only that, but they had no idea of what each other looked like now. The only picture that Remy had of his Internet sweetheart was the one taken of them during Halloween all those years ago. Scott had asked about it before and, according to what Remy said, both had agreed to wait until they could see each other in person.

Looking back over at the person hunched over the computer, he noticed that the muttering had stopped and his eyes were glued to the screen. Hmmm. Must have gotten a letter from Belle, too. Clicking off the television, he retrieved his personal care supplies and headed to the bathrooms to get ready for his date.

Totally oblivious to his surroundings, Remy gladly engrossed himself in the message from Belle.

__

Dear Remy,

How were your midterms? I know I'm breaking the rule by asking but I can't help but be curious. :) School's been okay for me. It's hard to believe that I'm finally going to be getting out of that joint. I love learning and all but the people here can be too melodramatic for their own good! I swear, who cares what the theme of the prom is going to be? Or that Pierre is getting back together with Kayla so they both have a date? I certainly hope people grow out of that stage.

I still haven't decided what I'm going to do after high school. I heard Rogue got into your school. Isn't that great? Rogue, our little career girl. I remember a while back when I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. She gave me this whole speech about how business affects our everyday lives and how she would be giving back to the community but contributing her business skills. I think we were only thirteen when she told me that.

Thanks for telling me about all that Greek mythology stuff. How did you know I would like that? Everything is so interesting. It's like they have an explanation for everything. I love the story of Atalanta, though I'm sure you can figure out why. ;) Sometimes it's confusing to remember how everyone relates to one another. I did find this one book, though, that just tells you stories and then forces you to figure out what the meaning of the myth is. It's pretty cool.

So, how's college life treating you? Any more members of that ever-growing fan club of yours? I wouldn't doubt it. Just remember that I'm always gonna be your favorite. :) I bet New York is great. Any good dance clubs near you? The ones here are good but it gets kinda boring going to the same place over and over. A change of scenery would be nice. As much as I love being home, it would be nice to see what else the world has to offer. Or at least, this country. That's something I envy about you. You have seen Europe in all it's glory and have ventured out into the unknowns of New York City. Maybe I'll get my chance someday. Ah, well. Gotta go for now. Take care and have fun this weekend!

Belle

Remy closed down his email and wandered back over to his bed. Those two emails had certainly brightened his day. Lying down, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of excitement and apprehension at Rogue's news. After all these years he would be reunited with one of his best friends. The only thing was, he didn't know where they really stood with each other. Would the ease with which they got along still be there? What if she changed too much? What if _he_ had changed too much? They really didn't know each other that well anymore. Their correspondence had been sparse at best, no where near the level of communication he had with Belle, and a large part of him regretted that. He felt that he knew Belle so well it was like they were never apart. With Rogue, it was like the girl hadn't even tried to keep their friendship strong. Granted, his letters to her were only a few sentences long as well, but he figured that she had learned all about him through Belle anyway. It was almost like they were strangers all over again, only he was the one who was in the dark. Pah! he thought to himself. What am I worried about? Rogue's Rogue. Our friendship was somethin' special, right? Time can' change dat. We always got along, no matter what. She was like m'best guy friend and m'best girl friend all rolled into one. She was even de one to push me an' Belle together. Went outta her way to let Belle email me an' stuff after I left. Hmm, gonna have t' t'ank her for dat. Guess I can' really get mad at her for not keepin' in touch better. I wonder what dey look like now? Without realizing it, Remy drifted off to sleep, only to be awaken two hours later by a slightly irritated Scott.

_

* * *

_

I got chills they're multiplyin'!  
An' I'm losin' control  
Cause the power you're supplyin'  
It's Electrifyin'!

You better shape up cause I need a man!  
And my heart is set on you  
You better shape up, you better understand  
To my heart I must be true

You're the one that I want,you are the one I want, ho, ho, ho, honey,  
You're the one that I want,you are the one I want, ho, ho, ho, honey,  
You're the one that I want,you are the one I want, ho, ho, ho, honey,  
The one that I need oh yes indeed!

Rogue was enjoying herself, despite her lack of affection for the musical she was watching. In fact, she probably would have avoided it all together if her best girl friend had not had the coveted starring role of Sandra Dee in the Spring Fling musical _Grease_. Besides, with graduation only a month away, the least she could do was support her friend in the last performance of her high school career. She really couldn't complain either. Rogue was literally amazed as she watched Belle flitter across the stage, dancing and singing her heart out. Belle was great, hands down. And that wasn't even a biased opinion. The girl had even managed to mask her Cajun lilt in order to sound like the all-American girl. As she listened to that flawless voice flow through the words, she realized that not even her singing was tainted with her trademark accent. Belle had talent, no doubt about that.

In fact, she was so talented that she had recently received word of her acceptance into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Rogue remembered how ecstatic she had been when the letter had arrived in the mail. She had burst into the boutique and literally tackled her on sight. Remy was bursting at the seams knowing that they would soon all be reunited in New York. As of late, Rogue was just realizing the complications their impending situation created. Belle didn't know that she had been writing to Remy in her stead after all these years. Even worse, Remy had no clue either. He believed that he truly knew Belle after all they had shared with one another, as he had stated when he last wrote, when in reality he barely knew the Cajun beauty at all. Sure, he knew the basics, like her favorite food and color, but much of what he had been most privy to were facets of Rogue's own personality and persona. And Belle, Belle didn't know Remy at all. She hadn't read a single letter he had written and had stopped asking about him a year after his departure.

Rogue rubbed her eyes in slight frustration. What had sounded like a great idea in the beginning was quickly starting to reclassify itself as a huge mistake. At least she had about three months to get her friend up to speed. Thankfully, she had kept a hard copy of all of the emails, as well as electronic copies saved on her hard drive.

The sound of thunderous applause broke Rogue out of her reverie and she saw that the show had ended. She joined in the standing ovation when the performers made their curtain call, whistling loudly when Belle stepped forward to take her bow. Soon after the actors retreated under the cover of the red curtains and Rogue took her seat once more as the crowd slowly filed out of the theater. Belle was hosting the cast party at the one of the local dance clubs and had asked Rogue to stay behind so they could ride together. After what seemed like an eternity, Belle finally emerged from one of the side stage doors. Rogue rushed to her, gushing over her wonderful performance.

"Ya were so great! Ah don't even like that movie but ya had me movin' to the beat!"

"T'ank y'. See, tol' y' it would be fun," Belle beamed.

"Ah know, ah know." They walked towards the exits. "How did ya learn to hide your accent?"

"TONS of practice, believe me. De rest of de cast was quite surprised when I stopped soundin' like de natives when I recited m'lines." She buffed her nails on her blouse. "Jus' tryin' to expand m'talents."

"And another starlet is born," Rogue joked. Getting into the car, she asked, "How long we stayin' tonight?"

"Oh, not too late. It's been a long week an' m'bed's callin' m'name loud an' clear."

* * *

"Rogue?"

"Rogue!"

"ROGUE!"

The emerald-eyed beauty cracked one eye open when her brain finally registered the fact that someone was calling her name. Not too late my ass. It had been four in the morning when Belle had stopped ignoring the call of her bed. Trying to fight through her sleep-induced haze, she could just make out the outline of her mother standing in the doorway.

"Rogue? Honey, I'm sorry to wake you but something came in the mail today that I thought you'd might like to see."

Irene watched her daughter shift in her bed and emit a mumbled 'What is it?'

"It's a letter from Remy."

Rogue froze, her drowsiness completely forgotten. She shot up from bed and stumbled over to her mother. "What time is it?"

Irene handed her the letter. "Three in the afternoon. Good thing you were smart enough to take today off."

"Yeah." She looked the envelope in her hands. She had never seen Remy's handwriting after he left. It was pretty decent.

"There's food in the fridge. I'm going out for a bit."

"Thanks, Mom." She closed the door after her mother's departure and immediately went to her computer, flipping it on. Retrieving her letter opener, she slowly slit across the top, creating an opening. She carefully removed the slip of paper within and unfolded it.

__

Hey there, Rogue.

Bet you didn't expect this. I would have emailed you (which I will) but I wanted to make sure that you received my letter. I just received news from my dad. He said that he is being transferred back to New Orleans in July. School lets out in a couple of weeks and I had planned on going back home to visit but now I don't have to. So, instead I'll be heading back down there. I'll be spending the whole summer in New Orleans and then probably head back up to New York when you do. How about that? After all these years I'm finally going to be able to see you all again. I've written you only, and not Belle, because I want to surprise her. You're the only one who knows that I'll be coming back. On that note, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind picking us up from the airport? :) Oh, I'm not coming alone. My buddy, Scott, will be coming with me. I promised him that I would bring him whenever I went back there. You can bring Belle to the airport, just don't tell anyone until then. I know I can trust you on this. You always kept our secrets guarded with your life. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again and I'm glad that I'll be able to see you both graduate! Please email me back so that I know for sure that you can come. Until then, take care and say hi to your mom for me!

Remy

What the hell?! You've got to be kidding me! Rogue could only gape at the letter in her hands. Below the actual letter part, Remy had listed out their flight information. The tickets were one way. She couldn't believe it. He was really going to be here in fifteen days. Fifteen days! She had fifteen days to inform Belle of the situation and then get her to memorize all the letters that had been written over the past nine years. Her three months have been shaved to a mere fifteen days. She turned to her computer and logged onto the Internet. Clicking open her email she saw that there was indeed another email from Remy. She scanned it quickly and found it said the pretty much the same thing as the one she had received in the mail. She replied to him, assuring him that they would be there to pick them up. As soon as she was finished she grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom to get ready. She had a lot of work to do. Sorry, Remy. Can't keep your secrets this time.

* * *

"Are y' serious?"

A very frazzled Rogue sat perched atop Belle's desk and looked at her friend. "As a heart attack."

Belle groaned and tried to sink further into her bed, pulling a pillow over her face. She hadn't bothered to get up when Rogue invited herself over. She knew someone would open the door.

"So y'r sayin' dat y' pretended to be me for ten years, Remy don' got a clue and now he's comin' and t'inkin' dat we still know everyt'in 'bout each other?"

"Yup. An' he still likes you. You're his favorite girl."

"Great. Jus' great. What ever possessed you t'do dis?"

"He was my best friend. It made him happy. Ah tried to break it off before but he got all sad an' depressed and Ah didn't have the heart to do that to him." Rogue could only smile sheepishly. "Ah couldn't help it! It seemed so romantic and everything! Besides, Ah never really thought we'd see him again."

"Apparently, y' t'ought wrong." Belle threw off the pillow and groaned once more. "So what do I have t'do t'bail y'r ass out?"

"Just read through these letters and try to remember the important stuff. Ah'll help since Ah remember most of it."

"Argh! Fine! But y' owe me real big f'r dis one."

"Well, if everything works out the way Ah had originally intended all those years ago, we'll be even."

Whew! Finally got that one off my conscience. Thank you to everyone who waited so patiently for me to get my act together and stick to my commitment to finish this story. My life has just been a whirlwind as of late, but things have calmed considerably. Happy reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4

__

#Attention, passengers. We will be arriving at New Orleans International Airport shortly. Please bring your seats and tray tables to their upright positions. Thank you for flying Southern Airlines.#

Remy gazed out the window, trying to contain his excitement. He couldn't believe the day was finally here. In less than twenty minutes he was going to be reunited with his two best childhood friends. The suspense was killing him.

"Hey, man, I know you're excited but do you think you can stop tapping your foot? I don't think I can take much more of it."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Scottie." He had almost forgotten that Scott had come with him.

"No prob. So, how are we going to know who they are?"

"I dunno. I was hopin' y' would be able to spot Rogue wit' her green eyes," Remy replied jokingly.

"Ha, ha. Funny. I really hope you don't plan on telling her I said that."

"What? An' pass up a perfectly good opportunity to embarrass de pants off of y'? Yeah right!"

Scott could only roll his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Seriously, though. Are we just going to go around looking lost?"

"Scott, y' have too little faith in me," Remy admonished. "I tol' Rogue t'bring a big pink sign wit' y'r name on it."

"Wonderful."

"Knew y'd like my idea."

* * *

"Flight 1355 from New York, on time, Gate 12."

Rogue looked back from the window and over at Belle. "Thanks for checkin'."

"No problem." She sat down next to Rogue. "So, do I look okay?"

Okay? Okay was an understatement. In a low cut black halter-top and matching designer khaki miniskirt she looked fabulous. Paired with strappy stiletto sandals, she looked every bit like fashion model material. Rogue felt a bit plain in her spaghetti strapped tank and jeans.

"Ah can't believe ya just asked me that question," she teased, smiling.

"Well _excuse_ me for feelin' a bit pressured," Belle huffed jokingly. "Dis guy does have de hots for me, y'know."

"Belle, this is Remy. Ya coulda came wearin' rags and he still would call ya beautiful."

"Really?"

"Trust me."

"T'anks."

"Anytime." Rogue smiled and gazed back out the window. She couldn't believe today was finally here. She was more nervous than anything, but she had faith in Belle. The other girl had told her that she had studied all of the letters twice. Besides, as she had put it, she had her flawless acting skills to fall back on. Still, all the faith in the world seemed unable to untangle the knot that had formed in her stomach.

"Ah'm gonna go run to the restroom real quick and then grab somethin' to drink. Want anythin'?" Rogue asked, getting up.

"No, I'm okay."

"Okay. Here's the sign in case Ah'm not back in time."

Belle shot her a look. "Y' better be back here in time. Don' leave me here by m'self."

"Ah know. Just in case, though," Rogue tossed over her shoulder.

Belle focused her attention out the windows, willing Rogue to hurry. Not five minutes had passed when a large Boeing rolled up to the gate Remy and Scott were to arrive at. Oh, no. Belle thought, searching the terminal for any sign of Rogue. Dat girl has got de worst timin'. Shoulda jus' tol' her to hold it. Seeing the other people start to gravitate towards the gate doors, Belle stood up and did the same, hanging back a bit so that she was in clear view of the open doorway. She continued to watch the jet slowly align itself with the extended ramp. Not soon after, one of the gate workers was opening the doors. Belle held the sign in front of her chest, her hands trembling slightly. Despite her usually confident demeanor, she was a bit nervous at seeing Remy after all this time. She had tried her best to go through all of the letters Rogue had given her but there were so many. It's okay, girl. Don' be nervous. It's jus' – hello!

Belle could barely keep her jaw from dropping to the floor. The first few passengers off the plane included some very, very attractive young men. One was boyishly handsome in his red polo and blue jeans, the pair of glasses framing his ice blue eyes only adding to his good looks. It was plain to see he was in good shape, the shirt a bit snug around his chest and arm holes. Oh yeah, definitely a fine piece of eye candy. And if that weren't enough, his companion was HOT! A finely chiseled chest was apparent through the white tank he sported. The black button up showed off his deliciously toned arms. Belle's staring had moved up to his face when he suddenly made eye contact with her and smiled. Good Lord!

Remy's eyes had been quickly scanning the crowd when he came across a very gorgeous blonde holding a sign bearing Scott's name. Dere she is, he thought, taking in her tan skin and dancer legs. She was beautiful. Dressed in what appeared to be designer clothes, he took a moment to take her in. Shoulder length blonde hair his fingers itched to run through, bright, violet-blue eyes, silky smooth-looking skin, fine womanly assets . . . He nudged Scott.

Suddenly, she realized that both men were headed towards her. Her heart thudded wildly in her chest. _Dieu, Dieu, Dieu_ . . .

"Belle?"

Sweet heaven, they were standing right in front of her. "Yes?" she answered, a tad breathless, looking up into the hottie's honey brown eyes.

"_Mon Dieu_! Belle!"

Belladonna soon found herself encased in a massive bear hug and being swung around.

"Didn' t'ink it was possible but y'r more beautiful den I imagined," Remy confessed, setting her down.

Belle took a step back, eyes wide. This was Remy?! Her Remy? The boy that had been her constant companion until her left all those years ago? She took note of the wide grin plastered across his face. And he has dimples . . .

Remy gestured to Scott. "Belle, dis is Scott. Remember, de one I tol' y' about who has sick, twisted, perverted t'oughts about an eight year old Rogue?"

"Remy!" Scott hissed, elbowing his friend in the ribs. "Don't listen to him. The change in air pressure affects his thinking. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Remy was right. Belle was beautiful. Like a supermodel or an actress. He offered his hand to shake.

"Likewise." Belle had finally found her voice and returned the handshake.

Remy bent down to retrieve the bag he had dropped in order to embrace Belle. "Speakin' o' Rogue, where is she?"

"Oh my God! Ah'm so sorry! The line was so long but Ah couldn't wait . . ."

Scott traced the voice to its owner and fought to keep his eyes from bugging out at the sight of her. WOW. This is Rogue?! Scott couldn't help but think about how right his prediction had been. He studied the brunette beauty. Fair skin that looked oh so soft, toned arms, long legs, full pouty lips, the much coveted hourglass figure. Her attire contrasted greatly with Belle's. A plain white tank hugged her torso greedily, displaying only a hit of cleavage. A pair of well-worn flared blue jeans hung low on her hips exposing a hint of her taunt abs. And, unlike Belle, little, if any, make up decorated her delicate features, putting all focus on those gemstone eyes he had admired for so long. She looked so pure and innocent that it seemed to be almost sinful to be attracted to her. But there was just something about her that made her seem sexier than her friend. It was like those old _Gilligan's Island_ shows, Belle was the Ginger to Rogue's Mary Anne. As far as he was concerned, Remy could have Ginger.

However, everything Scott had noticed was not lost on Remy.

Remy was literally stunned. All his thoughts had been so completely focused on Belle that he hadn't even considered how Rogue might have turned out. Scott had been right. She was a major hottie. For some reason, a small part of him felt regretful at his promise to try and get them together.

"Hey stranger."

Both men tried to suppress the chill that threatened to run up their spines at the sound of her sultry southern drawl.

Rogue stepped over to Remy, arms open wide as an invitation for a long overdue hug.

He accepted without hesitation. Scott was jealous.

After a short embrace, both pulled back. "What's dis?" he asked, fingering a lock of her hair. A snowy white lock of hair.

"Oh, that." Two thick strips of white hair framed her face that were definitely not there when he left. "It was a product of extreme Truth or Dare about a year ago. Ah liked the way it looked so Ah kept it." She flashed him a smile before turning to Scott. "An' ya must be the infamous Scott we've heard so much about." She stuck out her hand. "Ah'm Rogue."

Without thinking, Scott scooped up the pre-offered hand and placed a light kiss on her knuckles.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Rogue blushed pink. "My, isn't he a charmer?"

"In more ways den one." Remy grinned lightly. His protectiveness of Rogue had kicked in and it took a lot of will power to not scowl at Scott. "Shall we collect our bags?"

The four traversed out of the terminal and down to baggage claim. Remy fought the frown off his face as he watch Rogue and Scott fall into step together. He focused his gaze on Rogue. She had changed. She had always been cute as a little girl but had definitely matured into a woman. His eyes traveled the length of her body, from her white streaked hair, down her toned back and arms, over her flared hips and firm bottom, and finally grazing over her thin legs. He could see the sparkle in her eye as she turned her head to talk to Scott. She giggled at something he said and Remy could feel the surge of protectiveness course through him once again.

The initial shock that had over taken Belle was starting to wear off. It looked like Scott had engaged Rogue in a lively chat so she tried to do the same with Remy. Bringing all the details she had managed to memorize to the forefront of her mind she threw herself into charm mode. Walking a bit closer to him, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it a bit.

"Y' look good." 'Good' was such an understatement.

"I know."

Belle punched him lightly in mock outrage. "I can' believe y' jus' said dat!"

"I'm jus' kiddin'!" Remy protested, holding his arm. "T'ank y', dough. Y' look _tres magnifique_ y'self."

"I know."

Remy grinned at her response. "Oh really? Who's bein' conceited now?"

Belle laughed lightly. "So, what're y' plans for de summer?"

"Not'in really. Jus' enjoyin' de vacation. Mebbe show Scott around a bit. Spend some time wit' y'." He winked at her.

She felt a slight flutter in her stomach but then pouted a bit. "Y' didn' tell me y' were comin'. I made all dese plans dat I can' break. . ."

Remy let go of her hand and put the arm around her shoulders instead. "Hey, don' worry. Don' gotta break any plans on account o' me. We got plenty of time to hang out since y' movin' t' New York an' all. But I do have sometin' dat'll make y' feel better." He reached into an opening on his hand carry and produced a small lion cub.

She took the gift from him and plastered a false smile on her face automatically. 'What de hell is dis? Oh yeah. I'm s'posed to like dese t'ings.' "T'ank y'."

He noticed the smile did not reach her eyes and was confused. Weren't lions her favorite? "Y' don' like it?"

"_Non_! I love it. It's jus', ah, I didn' get y' anyt'ing," she covered.

"Aw, _chére_, I brought dis to make y' smile, not feel guilty. I wasn' expectin' anyti'n ot'er den y'r lovely company."

Belle blushed faintly. "I guess Scott isn't de only charmer."

Remy rolled his eyes dramatically. "Please. Where do y' t'ink he learned it from? Boy couldn' talk t' a girl wit'out stutterin' 'til I came along."

Rogue's melodious laughter wafted back to them.

"Hmm. Rogue don' usually laugh like dat around guys. Guess y' taught him well, huh?" she commented.

"Yeah." A little too well, he thought before dismissing it. Scott was his friend. He deserved someone good for him. He watched as Scott said something that had Rogue bursting into another fit of giggles. Fighting the protective urge to interrupt their conversation, he turned his attention back to the petite beauty under his arm.

"So how has Rogue been? She didn' write much."

That's an understatement. "She's been good. A tough little cookie wit' a heart o' gold, dat one. Always lookin' t' make de people around her happy."

"Really? Dat's sweet." He continued to watch him as they stopped to wait by the luggage carousel. "She got a boyfriend?"

"Not right now. Actually, hasn' really had one since junior year. She needs one, t'ough. Needs someone t'dote on her every once in a while. She devotes so much time to makin' everyone else happy dat she don' have any fun for herself sometimes." She looked up at him. "Why y' ask? Interested?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Scott's admired her since she was eight. Been wantin' t'meet her for a while."

"Really? Well, it looks like dey're gettin' along good."

"Yeah." That's a good thing, right?

The ride home was not as uncomfortable as Rogue thought it might have been. Belle seemed to be getting along quite well with Remy. They had touched upon some subjects mentioned in the letters but Belle had been very good at steering the conversation away from that. Scott seemed able to fit in pretty well, and Belle had asked him a lot of questions to keep him from feeling left out.

Rogue herself had remained quiet and was quite grateful when Belle explained that she had 'this weird rule about preventing herself from being distracted by senseless chatter while having the lives of others in her hands.' After hearing that, she was kept out of all conversation. Rogue was glad because it gave her the opportunity to think. She had never really thought about how Remy might look after all these years but she had to admit that she couldn't complain with what she saw. He was strikingly attractive. Warm honey colored eyes, strong jawline, dimpled smile. He looked to be in fantastic shape. She had noticed the broadness of this chest and shoulders, as well as the muscle tone in his arms. He had an air of ruggedness around him, despite his clean appearance, that made him magnetically alluring. Combine that with his charming demeanor and Rogue could see why he had such a large female fan base.

Scott, on the other hand, was handsome in a debonair kind of way. He reminded her a lot of Cody as far as mannerisms. He was in just a good of shape as Remy. His eyes were a very pretty blue and she thought his glasses made him look dashing. His hair was cropped short whereas Remy's was far longer and he possessed his own version of a heart-melting smile.

Rogue was distracted out of her thoughts when she felt a pressure at her lower back.

"Sorry, Rogue. Didn't mean to knee you like that."

"It's okay. Ah understand. Ah'm just sorry y'all have to sit in the back." Both men were about 6'2" and Rogue herself was 5'8". Remy was most comfortable of the two since he was seated behind Belle, who was the shortest at 5'5", and could scoot her chair forward a lot farther than Rogue. She had hoped that her Jeep Liberty would be able to accommodate their height but it didn't appear to be working out. At least, not for Scott.

Remy instructed Rogue to go ahead and pull up in front of her own house since he and Scott could carry their luggage across the street. Belle's dad was out of town on business so the first house the boys visited was Rogue's.

As soon as Rogue opened the front door, Remy's mouth began to water. He knew that smell. "_Chére_, y' remembered." He smiled at Rogue appreciatively.

Rogue smiled. "How could Ah forget? Or my mom for that matter? Everytime she asked ya what ya wanted for dinner ya said the same thing."

"Only 'cause she was the best at makin' it."

* * *

"Rogue, is that you?" Irene called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, we're back!" she answered back, motioning for everyone to follow her to the kitchen. Irene looked up from her cooking when the four entered the room.

"Remy," she smiled at him, "welcome home." She walked up to him and embraced him tightly.

"Good t'be home. Y' haven' changed since de day we left," he told her, looking her up and down.

"And it seems that you have changed quite a bit. Let me look at you." She appraised his appearance. "No longer the mischievous little boy, I see."

"Oh I'm still mischievous, just not a little boy," he told her with a wink.

She patted his cheek affectionately and turned to Scott. "You must be Remy's friend."

"Yes, ma'am." He shook her hand. "Scott Summers. Remy speaks quite fondly of you."

Irene smiled. "Well, I would certainly hope so, after all those times I prepared his favorite meal for him."

"Ah remember that one time when we had Cajun fried chicken for two weeks straight 'cause Remy begged my mom to make it. Even after the two weeks he still wanted more," Rogue recalled. Everyone chuckled at the memory.

"What can' I say? Y' mom's de best." He gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Umm-hmmm. Keep your eyes on this one, girls. I can see he has picked up on some of that French charm," Irene warned playfully.

"He isn' de only one," Remy added, elbowing Scott slightly in the ribs. Scott just smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, eying Scott with a smile. "You both can feel free to settle in for the time being. Dinner won't be ready for another hour. Will you be joining us this evening as well, Belle?"

"_Oui,_ Miss A, but not for long. I got rehearsals at eight tonight."

"Another late night? Well, as long as you get something to eat. Your father already thinks you don't eat enough as it is. Wouldn't want him to think I wasn't looking out for you in his absence."

"Don' worry. Rogue keeps me in check."

"Ah try," Rogue amended. She looked at Remy. "Y'all want to get your stuff?"

"Yeah, guess we should. See you in a bit Miss A!" Remy said as the four filed out of the kitchen and back to the car. They unloaded the car quickly and headed over to Remy's. Rogue and Belle declined to accompany them over and opted instead to hang out at Belle's. They told the boys they would come get them when dinner was ready.

* * *

Once safely tucked inside the privacy of Belle's bedroom, Rogue regarded her friend with a smile. "Well?"

"Well what?" Belle asked, feigning misunderstanding.

"Don' play coy with me, girl! Ah know ya too well."

"Okay, okay," Belle gave in. "Y' were right. Y' don' owe me no more." She flopped down on her bed. "Could he be anymore hot?"

"Tell me about it. Ah can see why he was so popular at home." Rogue found a seat at Belle's desk. "So, y'all get along alright?"

"Yeah. He seems real nice. Brought me a gift an' all."

"Ah saw that. Thought it was real sweet."

"It was. Too bad I really don' dig lions."

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout that."

"Don' be. I consider myself quite lucky right now." Belle sat up and smiled teasingly. "Y' an' Scott seemed pretty chummy. He's pretty good lookin' himself."

"He is. He's real charmin' an' all. Reminds me of Cody a bit." Rogue smiled wistfully.

"Remy tol' me he seems t' have a soft spot f'r y' already."

Rogue wasn't surprised. "Yeah. Ah remember him mentioning somethin' along those lines in one of his letters. Kinda sweet in a freaky sort of way. Ah mean, all he had to go by was a picture taken ten years ago."

Belle wandered over to her vanity and touched up her appearance. "I think it's cute. Tell y' what, let's all go out tomorrow night. We can all get t' know each ot'er. I'm free. Y'?"

"Ah get off at six."

"Great! It's a date!"

Scott was watching Remy unpack in his old room. "Wow. You had some pretty good taste for an eight year old."

A large, four poster bed sat in the center of the room. A few expensive looking paintings adorned the walls and huge entertainment center rested against the wall across from the bed. In one of the corners sat a tall bookshelf lined with books and picture frames.

"Nah. Dat was all m'mom. She wanted de house to match de same t'eme or somet'in like dat." He saw Scott wander over to the shelf with the frames. There were a lot of pictures of him and the girls there. "So what do y' t'ink of de girls?" he asked casually.

"I think you have got to be the luckiest guy on earth. You seem to know all the beautiful women in this world."

Remy sighed dramatically. "What can I say? It's a gift."

"Well, please don't hesitate to share," Scott told him, picking up a frame with a picture of Rogue in it. It was of her and Remy, actually. They were dressed in matching red and black soccer uniforms. Remy was laying on his stomach on the grass, his head propped up by and arm, grinning. Rogue was seated in side-saddle fashion on his back, legs stretched and crossed at the ankles. Her smile was quite bright as she held a large trophy in her hands.

"F'rgot 'bout dat."

Scott visibly jumped at the sound of Remy's voice. He hadn't noticed the Cajun was peering at the photo from behind his shoulder. He clutched at his heart with his free hand. "God. I hate it when you do that."

"Why do y' t'ink I do it?" Remy smirked, taking the frame from Scott to get a better look.

"I didn't know you played soccer."

"Only played dat one year. Rogue convinced me t' join. We were league champions dat year. Dat girl has a mean kick." He handed the frame back to Scott and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Glad t'see y' both gettin' along so well."

Scott returned the frame to its spot and picked up another, this one of Rogue and Belle. "Yeah, she's great. Real sweet and easy to talk to."

"Yeah, she was always like dat. Guess dat's why we were so close before I left. She used t'be able t'understan' me in ways Belle didn'."

Scott was surprised and a little confused. "If Rogue was so great why did you end up crushing over Belle?" he asked slowly.

Remy shrugged. "I've always had a crush on Belle. There's jus' somet'in' 'bout her dat draws me in. After gettin' t'know her over de years, m'crush jus' got bigger. Rogue was always dere to try and get us toget'er. Always helped us out if we weren' gettin' along. Sometimes I t'ink Rogue wanted us to get toget'er more den Belle did." He shrugged again and went back over to his closet.

Scott walked over to Remy's window and looked out. His room was in the front of the house so he had a perfect view of Rogue's house. Thinking deeply, he mulled over what Remy had said. Some of the things he had said bugged him and he didn't understand why. A sudden movement caught his eye and he saw Rogue exit Belle's house alone and head over to her own. He filed away his previous ponderings for a later time and addressed Remy again.

"Hey, Remy? Is it cool with you if I ask Rogue out sometime? You know, to dinner or something?" If Scott had been looking at Remy instead of watching Rogue disappear into her house, he would have seen Remy tense at the question.

'Why does dat question bot'er me?' Remy wondered. 'I'm gonna be spendin' m'time wit' Belle. It's only right dat he have someone else t'hang out wit', right? Besides, Scott is a good guy.'

When Remy didn't answer right away, Scott turned to look at him. He seemed frozen on the spot. Hmm. Maybe it's not okay. "Hey, it's cool if you say no. I won't be offended."

Remy was pulled out of his thoughts when Scott spoke. "What? Sorry. Jus' had a big brot'er moment. Yeah, it's cool if y' take 'er out."

Scott wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? I'll understand if you don't want me to. I know that some people are pretty wary of their friends dating. A whole lot of drama if things don't work out."

"Really, _homme_, it's okay. I t'ink y' would have a good time toget'er. Jus' feelin' de overprotective instincts is all. Rogue don' have a fat'er an' she don' have no brothers. When we were little I always felt like it was m'job t'look after her, y'know? Guess dose feelins jus' came back when I saw her." Yeah. Dat's it.

Scott smiled. "Thanks, man. That really means a lot."

"Don' mention it." He offered a smile in return and resumed unpacking while Scott went back to his room. Unfortunately, his mind was not on his clothes. Rogue's a big girl. She's free t'date whoever she wants. It's not like I was here t'do anyt'ing about it before. 'Sides, Scott is a good guy. I know he'll treat her good. I shouldn' have a problem wit' dis.

But why did the thought of them together bother him?

* * *

To the lovely reviewers:

Michelle – Yeah, so glad you didn't get to kill me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to finish the story!

RogueWarriorSpirit – Trust me, the suspense is killing me, too.

Neurotic Temptress – Next chapter up per your request. I think it's only fair that I now ask you to update one of your stories. The Madness Series perhaps? :)

Sage – Don't worry. I promised to finish this story.

Panther Nesmith – Hmmm. Can't really comment on the threat without giving away the story. So, I'm just going to pray my crops and water stay safe until we find out who Rogue really ends up with. fingers crossed!

ChaosCat – What movie is this loosely based on? _Mujhse Dosti Karoge._ Have no idea what the title translates to right now but I'll find out. It's an Indian movie. Keep in mind, though, that the movie served as inspiration and I am not necessarily following the entire storyline.

Yumiko – Hopefully, Remy won't be so blind in the future.

This is s e x – I aim to please.

Snow queen2 – If I told you who I put Rogue with in the end, would you _really_ keep reading the story?

Aro – Is this soon enough to get the cookie?

Mercurial1 – I'm still writing, don't worry. I have some future chapters already written, just need to fill in the gaps.

Caliente – Complicated stories are fun, aren't they?

Ishandhalf – Glad you like it so far. I just hope you like it all the way to the end!

And, yeah, that's it. Don't really know how much I like this chapter, but it did its job. Really hope someone likes it, though. Thanks to the reviewers! I'm sure everyone knows I'm big on the Rogue/Remy coupling, but I'm still brainstorming how this is going to end. Happy reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Can' believe de old place is still here."

"Ah know. Still not too many kids around here but my mom helped me fight hard t'keep it here."

"Really?"

"Yup. Got petitions signed an' everything. We even donated some of the equipment."

"Wow. Surprised dey didn' name de place after y'."

"They wanted to, but we didn't want the attention. The fact that they kept it was enough. Just couldn't bear the thought of them tearin' down a place that was so special to me. Who knows? Maybe another group of little kids will make this there special hangout one day."

It was late, nearing eleven at night, but Rogue and Remy took no notice. Right after Irene's delicious dinner, Belle had taken off for her rehearsals. Scott had stuck around until about ten, joining the others for after dinner coffee and dessert, then retiring to Remy's to get ready for bed and phone his parents to let them know he had arrived. Irene had excused herself shortly after Scott's departure and Rogue and Remy soon found themselves only in the company of each other. At first, they had both felt nothing but awkwardness, a feeling that Remy was completely unaccustomed to around the girl he still considered one of his best friends, despite the lack of contact. They had attempted to make small talk to ease the tension but even that didn't seem to help. Finally, Rogue could do nothing but laugh at the weirdness of being around each other again and invited him out for a walk. She had taken him to the park they had been so fond of when they were little and now here they were, perched atop the jungle gym similar to how they had been ten years ago.

Rogue was seated at the very top of the gym and Remy had chosen to stay a level below. He looked up at her as she looked off into the distance. The moon's light cast an ethereal glow across her flawless skin and he was once again reminded of how much had changed since he had been gone. "Why am I havin' such a hard time talkin' t'y'?"

She brought her eyes down to meet his. "Ah don't know. Why do ya think ya are?"

"I dunno. Guess I kinda feel like I don' know y' anymore. It's like I don' even know what t'say t' y. I have no idea what y' been up to since I've been gone."

"Ah'm no different than when ya left. Jus' grew up a little."

"Dat's an understatement."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Remy looked her up and down. "Have y' looked in a mirror lately? I'd say y've definitely grown up," he told her with a wink and a roguish smile.

Rogue's eyes widened at his implication and she couldn't fight the blush that invaded her cheeks. "Ah can't believe ya jus' said that," she told him, playfully kicking him in the arm. "Ah feel so violated." She illustrated her point by trying to shield her chest by crossing her arms in front of it. However, that only served to enhance her visible cleavage and bring further attention to the area she was attempting to hide.

"Are y' tryin' t'encourage me?" he asked with a laugh.

"What?" She looked down at herself and saw that she only managed to make her bust look bigger. She quickly dropped her arms but was at a loss at what to do now. Remy couldn't help but laugh at her embarrassment.

"Ah'm so glad ya find this so amusin'. Ah should clock ya for makin' comments like that."

"Aw, _chére_, y' act like y' don' know how sexy y' are." The words were out of his mouth before he even thought about what he was going to say. He immediately halted whatever he was going to say next and looked at her. She was staring at him like he had two heads. Had they been under better lighting conditions, he would have seen that she was as red as a fire truck.

"I'm sorry, _chére_. I was jus' messin' wit' y'. Didn' mean t'make y' so uncomfortable. Here, put dis on." He quickly shed his black button up and handed it to her. She took it from him and couldn't help but laugh as he covered his eyes with his hands. She quickly slipped into the shirt and buttoned it up all the way. Before giving him the okay to look, she couldn't help but admire how he looked. Now he simply clad in a ribbed white tank and jeans. She could see how muscular he was and that he sported a healthy looking tan. Watching him sitting there, he looked every bit like an underwear model, only with clothes on.

"Can I look yet?" he asked.

Shaken from her staring, she realized that he was still covering his eyes. "Uh, yeah. Ah'm done. Thanks."

He uncovered his eyes and bit his tongue. What was it about a girl wearing a guy's clothes that was so attractive? He cleared his throat and looked away, slightly embarrassed. "M'sorry, Rogue. I don' know why I said dat." He quickly looked back up at her. "Not dat I didn' mean it 'cause I do t'ink y' are what I said, but I'm not tryin' t' hit on y' or nothin', I mean, I was but not seriously, I mean, not dat I was tryin' t'mess wit' y' head or anythin' . . ."

As Rogue watched him stumble over his words in an attempt to take his foot out of his mouth she couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked so apologetic and flustered that it was downright cute.

Remy stopped talking when he saw Rogue burst into laughter. For some reason it was contagious and he soon found himself joining her.

When the collective laughter had died down, Rogue looked at Remy and smiled. "Aw, sugah, don' even be sorry. Had ya not caught me off guard Ah would've flirted right back with ya. Just not used to that aspect of your personality yet."

Remy continued to chuckle as he ascended the gym to sit next to her. "So I caught y' off guard?"

Rogue leaned her head on his shoulder, like she used to do when they were younger. "Well, it's not everyday y'best friend tells ya he thinks ya're sexy."

Remy leaned his cheek against the top of her head, like he used to when they were younger. "Well, it's not everyday that y' walk off a plane and see dat de memory of a y'best friend dat y've had for ten years has suddenly transformed into a woman dat y'male friend can' seem t'take his eyes off of."

"Ya make it sound like that's a bad thing."

"Not really. It's jus' dat y'r like m'little sister an' I go all big brother, y'know?"

Rogue couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Please, Rem. Ah've had boyfriends before."

"Dat's diff'rent. I wasn' here. Probably a good t'ing, too, ot'erwise y' prob'ly wouldn' of had any."

"Please! Ah highly doubt ya would've been able to stop me. Ya woulda been too busy fawnin' over Belle. Besides, Ah thought Scott was your good friend?"

"He is. I t'ought I'd be okay wit' it. It's jus' weird."

"Hey, just be glad that he ain't havin' sick, twisted perverted, thoughts about an eight year old girl anymore," she joked.

"Dat don' make me feel better. Now he's havin' sick, twisted, perverted t'oughts 'bout an eighteen year old woman an' he can do somet'in' 'bout it."

"Y'all act like Ah'm gonna do anything with him."

"Y' never know. Scott's a pretty decent guy. Not better den me o'course," he threw in, earning another eye roll, "but a good guy. I t'ink he might be good for y'."

"Ya just said that ya don't know me that well anymore. How do ya know Scott's good for me or that Ah'd even be interested?"

"Dere are jus' some t'ings dat people can' change about demselves. Y've always been a sweetheart, Rogue."

"Not all the time."

"But still a sweetheart."

They sat in a content silence for a few moments. For two people who felt they didn't know what to say to each other, they had tackled some pretty weighty topics. Finally, Remy spoke up again.

"Y' were wrong."

Rogue got up to look at him better. "Wrong about what?"

"About me not noticin' y' and fawnin' over Belle. Wouldn' have been like dat."

"Ya don't know that," Rogue told him.

"Neither do y'. But I do know dat y' were my best friend. Y' used t' know me better den Belle did 'til I moved. Always felt more comfortable talkin' t'y' den I did her. It was weird. Always felt closer t'y' an' I didn' know y' as long." He sought out her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze. "Missed y' when I was gone," he admitted softly.

Rogue felt a wave of guilt wash over her. "Ah missed ya, too."

"Why didn' y' didn' write much?" It was a question he had always wanted to ask.

"Ah don't know. Life got hectic, Ah guess. Plus, ah figured Belle was writin' plenty for the both of us anyway." She knew it was a lame excuse but she couldn't tell him the truth. She just had to sacrifice hurting him now to make him happy with Belle in the end.

"It wasn' de same. It worked alright in de end, I guess. Sometimes, Belle sounded jus' like y' and dat kinda made up for it. Still wasn' de same, dough."

"No, it wasn't. Ah'll make it up to ya, though," Rogue promised. She squeezed his hand back before letting it go and changed the subject. "So, ya happy to see Belle again?"

His mood seemed to lift a bit at that. "More den happy. I'm glad she wrote me. Y'know, it's funny. I guess I didn' know Belle as well as I t'ought I did," he said, absently running a hand through his hair.

Rogue was immediately on alert. "What do ya mean?" she asked.

He thought a moment. "Well, I guess we have a lot more in common den I t'ought. I always figured her t'be one o'dose girly girls who jus' likes t'go shoppin' and gossip t'her friends. I was surprised t'learn dat she likes to read in her spare time now since she always hated readin' when we were little. An' den she got a job. Dat blew me away. She always seemed like a little princess, not wantin' to work or nothin'. I know dat our families got money but she never seemed t'appreciate it, y'know? Like me an' y', when we were little, we never asked for much. Y'r _maman_ never raised y' rich, 'cept for de big house. She always talked about money not growin' on trees and dat y' gotta learn t'earn y'keep. Y'always had t'do chores f'r y'r allowance. Same wit' me. _Mon pere_ always scolded me 'bout appreciatin' what I got 'cause he worked hard for it. But Belle didn' get dat, it seemed. All de girls I went t'school wit' in France knew dat me an' Scott had money. We had such a hard time findin' girls who weren' interested in our bank accounts or who weren' spoiled rich girls."

"Yeah, Ah hear ya. Momma was real proud o'me when I got my job. Even though it don' pay much, it's still nice to not have to ask for money."

Remy looked mildly surprised. "I didn' know y' got a job, too."

"It's no big deal. Jus' somethin' to get me into the work world."

"Where y' work?"

"A boutique. Salesgirl."

"Dat's cool. I don' even know what Belle does." He sounded disappointed.

"Oh, uh, she doesn't work anymore. Since she's gonna be so busy this summer she realized that she wouldn't have much time to work." Rogue lied.

"Oh. She didn't tell me dat."

"Ah'm sure she figured it was no big deal," she tried to reason.

"Hmm. Mebbe. Always t'ought she was so excited 'bout de job."

"She was. Actin' is just her passion. Too bad ya missed her final performance at school. She was so great. She played Sandy in _Grease_."

"Really? Huh. Dat's cool. Don' really like dat show, dough."

"Yeah, me either, but she made it fun."

"I bet." He was quiet for a moment. "Still surprises me dat she never tol' me 'bout actin' 'til she got accepted to dat place in New York. It seems so important t'her but she never mentioned it. Mebbe I don' know her as well as I t'ought." Frustration was slowing simmering within him.

Rogue's mind raced for possible cover-ups. This was getting to be a little tough. Remy was pointing out a lot of holes in their ruse and she was having trouble thinking up excuses that were believable. She would have to talk to Belle about this tomorrow so that they would be on the same page should Remy ever ask Belle questions when she wasn't around. Currently, she couldn't think of any good excuse to answer his question so she decided to feign ignorance. "Ah dunno, Rem. But Ah'm sure she has a good reason for not sayin' anything."

"Yeah. I'm sure she does."

Rogue felt a little bad at hiding the truth from Remy. She kept reasoning that it was for the greater good but it still didn't feel good to lie, at least to him. Hoping to avoid any more questions she tried to steer the conversation in another direction.

"So, ya got some big elaborate plan to sweep Belle off her feet?" she inquired playfully.

He chuckled a bit. "Not really. I have feelin's for her but I wan' t'be friends first."

Rogue was slightly confused. "But y'all are friends. Hell, ya've liked her since y'all were kids."

"I know dat but I don' wan' mess dis up, y'know? We gotta date first. See if we really are right for each ot'er." His earlier frustration had unsettled him, making him realize that he was going to have to take his time if he wanted to make the right decision.

"Please," Rogue scoffed, "everyone knows that y'all belong together. Even me. Knew that since the day Ah moved here."

"Not ev'ryone," he corrected.

"Like who? Your dads have been plannin' your weddings since birth. Your brothers always teased y'all with that silly 'kissin' in a tree' song. Ah've been your personal cheerleader since Ah found out."

"_Oui_, but dat's not everyone."

"Name one person."

"My _maman_."

"Yeah right! Your mom loves Belle," she exclaimed in disbelief.

"Y'r right, she does, but dat don' mean she want her f'r a daughter." He looked a Rogue with a face of pure seriousness. "An' don' be tellin' Belle I tol' y' dis," he warned.

"Ah know, ah know. All your secrets are still locked up here," she said, tapping her temple. "But why did she say that?"

"Don' get me wrong. She loves Belle like family. She jus' don' t'ink dat Belle is de right one f'r me. Said she was too much of a princess. All looks an' no substance. She said I needed someone who's beautiful an' strong, inside an' out."

Rogue didn't really know what to say. She'd always liked Remy's mom. Both of their moms had gotten along really well. To Rogue's knowledge, they had kept in touch through letters since the move but Irene had never discussed what was written. She remembered that his mom had always prided herself on her impeccable judge of character. She made Rogue feel special because she always told her mom that she was lucky to have such a wonderful daughter.

"What're y' t'inkin'?"

Rogue was pulled from her thoughts. "Huh?"

Remy made eye contact with her. "What're y' t'inkin'?" he repeated.

"Uh, nothin' really." She looked away. "Jus' wonderin' how ya feel about it."

"I dunno. Belle don' seem dat way anymore, at least, from what she wrote me. When I was little, I used t'tell my mom dat I wanted t'marry a girl like her. I t'ink dat's why she said all dat she did. At first, Belle didn' seem t'be dat girl but I liked her so I didn' care. Now, she's become de type o' person I see myself being wit'. 'Beauty is not in the face; Beauty is a light in the heart,' I guess."

"_Mirrors of the Soul_," Rogue stated without thinking. She knew that quote. It was from one of her favorite books.

"Yeah," Remy said, surprised. "Didn' know y' read dat stuff. Belle recommended it to me."

Aw, hell, she thought. Intense feelings of regret and dread were pooling at the bottom of Rogue's stomach at his words. Everything seemed to be slowing spiraling towards disaster. Belle wasn't the person she had created over the email, not completely. And she couldn't go on pretending to be something she wasn't, no matter how good her acting skills were. There was the chance that Remy could fall for the real Belle, but he already seemed so stuck on the one he thought was real. He wasn't in love with Belle yet but it really sounded like he wanted to be. Rogue was seriously starting to doubt how well her plan was going to work. She needed to do some serious damage control and then talk to Belle about what they should do.

"Don't ya think it's a little early to be thinking that seriously about someone?" she asked.

"It's never too early t'find someone t'love 'cause y'don' know how long it'll last. Remember dat?"

"How could Ah forget?" Rogue's mom had taught them that. One day the two of them had been complaining about how silly Henri had been acting with his 'girlfriend' and were making fun of him about it. They didn't understand the point of it. Remy had been particularly sore about it since Henri now spent even less time with him and had cancelled the fishing trip Remy had been looking forward to. Irene had heard their conversation and bestowed that little piece of wisdom on them. Rogue had later remembered that day had been the anniversary of Rogue's father's death and both had felt horrible about being so insensitive. "Ah felt so awful for arguing with her about what she said."

"Yeah, but y' weren' de one who said dat love was stupid."

"She knew ya didn't mean that. After all, she knew ya liked Belle then."

"I know. I was jus' so mad at Henri for breakin' plans wit' me t'go out wit' his girl. I understand him now, dough. I t'ink I've done dat t'Scott a few times." He laughed to himself before sobering. "Y'mom was right, dough. It'd be nice t'have someone stick around for a while."

Rogue smiled. "Don't worry, sugah. With my help, y'all be crazy in love in no time."

"What? Y' t'ink I can' get a girl on m'own?" Remy teased, taking her optimism as an insult.

"Oh, Ah'm sure ya got quite the fan club goin' right now. However, when ya realize ya want to spend the rest of your life with somebody,--"

"— y' wan' de rest o' y'r life t' start as soon as possible," Remy finished with her.

"Ya know that?" Rogue asked, quite shocked.

"It's a good movie," he admitted with a shrug.

"Yeah, one of my favorites."

He looked at her for a moment and smiled that dimpled smile of his. "Y'know what, _chére_, mebbe it's not so hard talkin' t'y' after all."

* * *

"Beauty is not in the face; Beauty is a light in the heart."

From the poem "The Sayings of the Brook" From the book _Mirrors of the Soul_ by Kahlil Gibran

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. "

From the movie _When Harry Met Sally_

A.N. – Y'know, I love writing this story but I can't seem to get it out fast enough. I have a few future chapters already written and it sucks having to fill in the holes to get to that point. Sigh Isn't that crazy? I'm dying to know what happens, even though I already know, and I'm the one writing the story. Sheesh . . .

Anyhow, bring on the shoutouts.

Friendlyfrenchy – Trust me, I want to update just as fast as you want me to.

Naughtfaery – Everyone's likable? Wow. That's good. Glad to know you enjoy it so much.

RaVenNYC – Please feel free to gush. My muse is a sucker for ego boosters. :)

4Rogue – Hmm. Never seen that movie. Maybe I should. Yeah, Remy's a pretty smart guy. He shouldn't be in the dark for long. Hopefully. Scott does sound a little shallow, huh? I'll work on that.

Spankychaff – No worries, no tragedy this time. Can't really say how it's gonna end, though . . .

Yumiko – True, true. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, right?

Carla-p – So glad you like it.

Snow queen2 – Ah, that's what sucks about fan fiction uploaded in chapters. Can't read ahead to see what happens in the end.

Caliente – Glad you enjoyed the last chapter, despite my reservations. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Rogue Warrior Spirit – Yes, shame on the girls for leaving Remy in the dark. How did Rogue put it in 'Cajun Spice?' 'You just did the wrong thing for the right reasons' or something to that extent? Someone please feel free to correct me.

Panther Nesmith – I'll try to pile on the suspense as much as possible. Don't know how well that's going to work out, though. I see a lot of frustration on the horizon . . .

Ishandahalf – I'm thinking that Remy isn't going to be the only one in denial as the story progresses . . .


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As Remy drove down the slightly busy roadway, he couldn't help but grin in anticipation of his evening plans. Two weeks after his surprise arrival in New Orleans, he and Belle finally found the opportunity to go out on a real date. Actually, Belle had finally found a hole in her schedule longer than an hour and had called him this morning to let him know. Between school, dance and rehearsals, Remy had barely seen her at all. As luck would have it, the weekend that he and Scott had arrived had been her last free weekend until graduation.

Pulling up to a stoplight, he glanced at the directions sitting on the passenger seat. "Turn right at fourth light and find a parking garage," he murmured to himself. The call this morning had caught him horribly unprepared for what he had wanted to plan for their first date. Remy had no familiarity with what the city had to offer for a romantic evening out, so he had decided to take the easy way out and enlist reinforcements, namely Rogue. The light turned green and he continued down the road, turning at the next light and scouring the new street for the parking garage that Rogue's mom had mentioned.

His plan had presented another dilemma. Remy had no idea where Rogue worked. She had been sketchy at best when he had asked her about it and he couldn't understand why. He had thankfully caught Irene before she left earlier and was able to get the directions to her job. The playful smile that Miss Adler had plastered on her face while she relayed the directions had him insanely curious about what it was that Rogue did. He wasn't able to pry the name of the store from her; the only other piece of information she offered was that Rogue normally took her lunch around twelve thirty, making him about ten minutes early.

The thought of Rogue made his grin even wider. His friendship with her seemed to be on track again and he found that he genuinely enjoyed being around her. She was a sweet, sassy, smart-ass that a large part of him regretted not being able to grow up with. They had hung out frequently over the past couple of weeks, sometimes with Scott, sometimes on their own. She had shown him a cozy little coffee shop not too far from their houses so they spent a lot of time there, catching up on what they had missed. Apparently, Belle had shared quite a few letters with her as he felt that she knew him a lot better than he had initially thought. Not that he minded. It made it so much easier to talk to her and their comfort levels with each other had never been better. They had a lot in common and the same sense of humor. And she was right, she did know how to flirt back. The first few times she had sprung it on him he had been really caught off guard, not knowing how to take it. However, it didn't take him long to adapt and soon found that they spent a lot of time bantering playfully back and forth. When she flirted with Scott it was downright hilarious, sometimes to the point where she made the poor boy's ears burn. Sometimes it still bothered him to see them interact with each other in that manner, so he had to scold himself on not being too protective.

Finally locating the parking garage, he pulled in and easily found a spot. Once back out on the street, he continued to hunt for Rogue's mysterious place of employment. The walkways were littered with the normal Saturday shoppers. As he wove his way around them, he studied the lines of shops on both sides of the street, searching for the address 2044. It was a little ways from the parking lot but Remy finally found it.

Then he proceeded to check and re-check the number he had written down.

'Dis is where she works?!' he thought to himself. He looked at the scantily clad mannequins in the window. The name _Layla's Boutique_ was written in fancy script along the bottom of the glass. For some reason, he had a hard time picturing his best friend working at a risqué lingerie store. 'Maybe Miss A's foolin' wit' me,' he thought as he peered through the glass just in time to see Rogue disappear into what looked to be fitting rooms. Or mebbe she's not. Lightly chuckling to himself, he opened the door and stepped in.

Quietly humming to the song playing over head, Rogue sorted the garments she had pulled from the fitting rooms to be returned to the racks. So engrossed was she in her task that she didn't notice the presence behind her until she heard a husky whisper in her ear.

"So de sweetheart does have a naughty streak."

Completely startled out of her skin, Rogue whirled around to see a smirking Remy Lebeau.

"You ass!" she blurted out while slapping his arm, gaining the attention of a few patrons. She smiled at them to cover her out burst before turning a glare on her friend. "What the hell was that? Ya scared the crap outta me!" she hissed.

"Well, if y' weren' singin' along wit' Britney Spears y' prob'ly would have noticed," he replied, trying, and failing, to keep the laughter out of his voice.

Rogue promptly turned a shade of red, but he couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. Maybe a bit of both, as she was still glaring at him.

"What are ya doin' here?" she asked, her voice low.

"Came t'take y' t'lunch. Y'r _maman_ tol' me where I could find y'," he said in a tone meant to calm her.

"Remind me to thank her later," she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Rogue? Is everything okay?"

Rogue looked around Remy to see her co-worker, Amara, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah, 'mara, everythin's fine. My _friend_ here, thought it would be fun to sneak up on me," she told the girl, smiling. "Remy this is my co-worker, Amara."

Remy turned around and flashed her a charming grin. "Amara? That's a beautiful name for a beautiful woman," he told her while scooping up her hand and planting a brief kiss on her knuckles.

"Th-thank you," Amara stuttered, bring her hand to her rapidly reddening face.

"It's a shame that lovely girl like you has to work so hard," Remy continued, pouring on the charm.

"Oh, it's uh, not so bad," she replied, glancing at Rogue. "Rogue's great to work with."

"It's okay, _petite_," he whispered conspiratorially to her, "y' don' have t' hide it. She's a terrible co-worker, huh?"

Rogue smiled as the blushing girl turned even redder and interjected before Remy could fluster her anymore. "Will ya be alright if Ah take my lunch? Ah know it's been a bit busy."

"Don't worry about it, boss," she said, smiling brightly at Rogue. "Tara and I will be okay. Have a great lunch. It was a pleasure meeting you, Remy."

"De pleasure was all mine," he told her with a wink.

Amara blushed once more before scurrying away.

"You're terrible, Rem," Rogue joked as they walked away from the boutique.

"What did I do?" he asked innocently.

"Please! Ya had the poor girl as red as an apple!"

"All I did was give her a compliment."

"Right."

She led them to a small outdoor café not too far away. Once seated, Remy immediately asked her the question that had been burning in his mind. "So, y' work at a lingerie shop?"

"Your point?" she asked back, not looking up from the menu.

"Y' embarrassed 'bout it?"

"No."

"Den why wouldn' y' tell me dat y' worked dere?"

She sighed and put down the menu. "'Cause most people think different of me when Ah tell them where Ah work. It's kinda a racy place."

Yeah, like a really fancy Frederick's of Hollywood. "What do y' mean?"

"Let's just say it's a great pickup line."

Remy nodded in understanding. "Well, I ain' 'most people.'"

She nodded in return as she signaled the waiter. A slim young man walked over to their table, smiling as he recognized one of the customers.

"Rogue, _chére_! It's been a while, _non_? What can I getcha?"

"Hey, sugah. Ah'll have the California Club on wheat and an iced tea. Remy?"

"I'll have de same."

"T'ank y' so much," he said, grabbing their menus.

"If what people t'ink bother y' so much, why do y' still work dere?" Remy asked, continuing their conversation.

"'Cause Ah'm not gonna let what people think stop me from working at a place Ah like."

"Y' really like workin' dere? Never pictured y' as de kinky type."

"Argh! That's exactly why Ah don't tell people where Ah work. Besides, they made me a manager. And it's safer there."

"What do y' mean, 'safer'?"

"Most guys are way too leery about goin' into the store."

"Why?"

"Ah think it makes them uncomfortable. Ya didn't feel that way?"

"_Chére_, I grew up in Europe. Saw t'ings way kinkier den some lacy underwear."

"Ah'll bet," she said, sipping her water. "So, to what do Ah owe the pleasure of your company?" Rogue inquired.

"What? Can' a guy take a _belle femme_ out t' lunch?" he asked, feigning hurt at her suspicion.

"Ah highly doubt ya would go through the trouble of trackin' me down jus' to have lunch."

"Trust me, _chére_, de pleasure of y' company is well wort' de trouble. Gettin' t'see y' in dat outfit is an added bonus," he told her with a dashing smile. He wasn't lying about what she was wearing. The black miniskirt showed off her athletic legs and the matching jacket didn't look like it had an undershirt, giving a less than subtle hint of what was covered underneath. The strappy heels were a sexy touch and combined with her chic French twist, he couldn't help but stare at her before approaching her in the store.

Rogue laughed openly at his last comment. "Now Ah know ya want something. Ah know that smile. Ya only smile like that when ya want something, just like when we were kids. An' you've added compliments."

"Hmph." Remy pouted at bit. "Guess I'm gonna have t' t'ink of a diff'rent tactic next time."

"Yeah, ya do that. So spill. What's so important that ya had to come visit me at work?"

"Belle called dis morning."

"And?"

"She finally found time t'go out wit' me."

"That's great!" Rogue was beaming. Finally, they're gettin' together.

"_Oui, chére,_ but seein' as how I don' know New Orleans real well, I don' have a clue as to where t'take her tonight."

"Yeah, Ah can see where that could pose a problem." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "What did ya have in mind?"

Remy leaned back in his chair and thought a moment. "Somet'in' simple. Like a movie, dinner date. Movies first, den dinner, t'make sure we got somet'in' t'talk about."

Rogue nodded in agreement. "That sounds good. There's a movie theater not far from the house." She pulled a pen and a small notepad from her purse, taking a moment to jot down some directions. "Oh, and take her to _Stormy's_ for dinner. She really likes it there. Do ya have a ride?"

"Yeah, picked up de rental dis morning."

"What did ya get?"

"Escalade," he said with a smile.

"Really? How did ya swing that one?" She looked up, cocking an eyebrow.

"Poppa's got sources."

"Without a doubt. Your gonna have to let me drive it sometime. What movie did ya wanna see?"

"I was t'inkin' de _Matrix Reloaded _since she seems to be into all dat sci-fi stuff."

Damn, Belle had just told her how much she _didn't_ want to see that movie. "Uh, actually, she said she wasn't a big fan of the first _Matrix_ movie. How about that movie, _Down with Love_?"

Remy wrinkled his nose is distaste. "A chick flick? I t'ought she didn' like dat stuff."

"Well, uh, not normally but she liked Ewan McGregor in _Moulin Rouge_. She loved that movie."

"Hmm, never saw dat."

"Me either, but Ah thought he was pretty good in _Star Wars_."

"De first or second one?"

"Ah liked his fight scene in the end of the first one and the way his character was portrayed. Ah'm not sure 'bout the second one. He seemed too straight laced."

"Dat's what I t'ought. Obi-Wan in Episode Four seemed to be less serious. Wise, but not so serious."

"Do ya like the old ones or the new ones?"

"I dunno. It's a toss up. Both sets have their good points and bad points."

"Yeah. Ah just don't like how the new ones don't have a character like Han Solo."

"Han was de best. Scott an' I used t'play _Star_ _Wars_ when we were younger. I was always Han."

"An' Scott was Luke?"

"Or Vader. Depended on if Henri or Alex played wit' us."

"Who's Alex?"

"Scott's little brother."

They paused in their talking when the waiter came with their food.

"Here y' go. _Deux_ California Clubs an' _deux_ iced teas. Enjoy!"

"Thanks, Raymond. Tell Sarah Ah said hello."

He nodded and smiled before walking off.

Remy took the first bite. "Hmm. Good choice, _chére_. Dis is pretty good."

"Yeah, but they only make it good here. Don't try it anywhere else."

Both ate in silence for a while before Rogue started speaking again between bites. "Anyway, we totally got off track. What else did ya want to do tonight?"

"Dat's all for now. Belle said she had t'get up early. An' I was gonna bring flowers. Fire and ice roses are her favorite, right?" he verified.

"Belladonnas," Rogue said without thought.

"Yeah, her favorites are fire and ice roses," he repeated.

"No, it's, Ah mean, yes, that's right." Rogue caught herself before she slipped. Remy looked at her questioningly but she just smiled in return. He smiled back and polished off the first half of his sandwich.

"Where can I get de flowers?" he asked after gulping down some tea.

Rogue waited until she was finished chewing before answering. "Actually, there's a shop down the street there," she pointed in the same direction her shop was in, "on the corner called _Bricks Florist_. They have the prettiest fire and ice roses. They arrange them real nice and the prices are really decent."

"Great. Is dere anyt'ing else I should know?"

"What do ya mean?"

"Y'know, anyt'ing she finds annoyin' dat I should avoid? Anyt'ings she don' like talkin' 'bout?"

"Ah thought ya knew her?" Rogue asked playfully.

"I do. I jus' don' want to mess up or anyt'in'. Jus' playin' it safe. Doin' my homework."

"All this from the man that said he didn't need help gettin' a girl on his own."

"I ain' in my element here, _chére_. Wait 'til y'get to New York. A date wit' me would definitely knock your panties off. Literally," he said with a wink.

Rogue simply rolled her eyes. "Could ya be any more cocky?"

"Only for y', _chére_. I know it turns y' on."

"About as much as Scott's singin'."

Wild laughter erupted from their table. Last weekend they had spent the evening with Scott at Remy's house playing poker. Instead of betting, every round the losers had to do whatever the winner said. After one particular round that Rogue had won, she asked each boy to serenade her. While Remy had a surprisingly decent voice, Scott sounded like a dying cat while performing his rendition of _I Don't Want to Miss a Thing._"

"A couple days ago, that song played at the store and Ah just broke out in giggles. The other gals couldn't understand what was so funny," she got out in between laughs.

"I'll never look at dat movie de same."

Rogue's laughter slowly subsided and she wiped the moisture that had collected in her eyes. "Goodness, that was priceless."

"Y' t'ink dat's bad? Wait 'til y' see him drunk," he said, trying to contain his own mirth.

"Remind me to bring a video camera." Sobering somewhat she addressed Remy in slightly scolding tone. "Stop, distractin' me, Remy. We're supposed t'be plannin' your big date with Belle." She looked at her watch. "An' we only got fifteen more minutes."

At Belle's name, he reminded of his original task at hand. After having so much fun with Rogue, though, he found himself slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be spending his evening with her.

* * *

Remy appraised his appearance in the mirror as he ran a mental checklist through his head. It was five in the evening and he was supposed to pick up Belle in half an hour. Their dinner reservations were made for six. After looking up the show times at the theater, he had decided that dinner would fit better if they did that first. The roses were stashed in the fridge; he had picked those up after walking Rogue back to work. The directions were in the car so he wouldn't forget and he had gone and bought the tickets in advance so they wouldn't have to wait in line.

He was still looking into the mirror when Scott walked by five minutes later.

"You look fine." Scott assuring him that the black polo and khakis were a good choice.

"Huh? Oh, hey Scottie."

"Nervous?"

"Hell no! It's jus' Belle."

"Right."

Remy turned to look at him. "Seriously. I don' know where we stand right now so I ain' makin' a big deal outta it."

"But this is what you've been looking forward to for years! The two of you alone, together. You may not be nervous but you've got to be at least excited."

"Turst me, I'm very excited," Remy smiled.

"How do I look?"

Rogue shook her head. "Sometimes Ah can't believe ya still ask me that question. Like ya could ever look bad."

Belle looked at herself in the mirror. The red v-neck halter was quite form fitting and went well with her equally fitting flared black stretch pants. Strappy stilettos adorned her feet, the tips of her red painted toe nails peeking out from under the hem of her pants. "I'm so nervous."

"Ain't nothin' to be nervous about. It's just Remy."

"Yeah, but y' know him way better den I do. What if I mess up?" she asked, a small frown marring her features.

"Stop thinkin' like that and ya won't. Remy's a great guy. You'll have fun." Rogue smiled encouragingly. "Just talk about neutral stuff and you'll be fine."

"I hope so."

"Ah know so."

"What're y' gonna do tonight? I don' want y' to be alone."

"Ah don't know yet." Irene had gone to visit her sister for a couple of days so Rogue was spending the night at Belle's. "Maybe Ah'll go hang out with Scott 'til ya come back."

"Really?" Belle waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Don't go thinkin' like that. Ah ain't interested in Scott like that."

"Why not?"

"He's really nice and cute and all but Ah don't feel attracted to him."

"Give it time. Y've only known him f'r a couple weeks."

The sound of the doorbell interrupted their conversation.

"That must be Remy. Ah'll go get it so ya can make your grand entrance down the stairs."

Getting up, she traveled down to the first floor and opened the door.

Remy turned around at the sound of the door and was surprised to see Rogue standing on the other side. Apparently, she had been home for a while as she had already changed into a pair of lounge pants and a long-sleeved shirt. "Hey, _chére_. What're y' doin' here?"

"Just helpin' Belle get ready. Come on in."

Remy stepped across the threshold and saw that the house still looked as elegant as he remembered it, complete with the marble floors and cheery wood furniture.

"Hi, Remy."

He looked up to see Belle slowly descending the steps.

Wow. That was the only thing he could think of as his gaze never left her. She stepped up to him and he took her hand, planting a whisper of a kiss on the back of it. "Y' look stunnin'." He handed her the bouquet of roses. "Dese are for y', but dey hardly compare t' y'r beauty."

Belle plastered a smile onto her lips as she accepted them. These were Rogue's favorite, not hers.

"T'ank y'! They smell wonderful!" She handed the bunch to Rogue. "Would y'?"

"O'course." She took the roses to the kitchen and placed them in water.

When she retured, Remy opened the door and held out an arm to Belle. "Ready, _mademoiselle_?"

"Wit'out a doubt!"

Rogue followed them out the door. "Have fun, y'all."

"Don' worry, we will!"

Rogue watched them drive off. Before she turned to go back to her own house, she noticed Scott jogging up the street.

"Hey, Scott!" she called when he got closer to her.

"Hi, Rogue!" he called back, waving. He picked up the pace a bit to reach her.

"Have a good run?"

"Yeah, it was alright." He noticed her outfit. "Staying in tonight?"

"Yeah. Don't feel up to goin' out. Figured Ah would just watch a movie or somethin' since my mom ain't here. Care to join me? Didn't really want to spend the evening by myself."

"Sure. Remy picked up some new releases at the store yesterday that we haven't seen yet. I just need to shower. You want to grab something to eat, too?"

"That sounds good. Ah'll get my purse and stuff while ya shower. Should Ah change?"

"Nah. We'll just grab take out."

"Great! Just come get me when you're done."

Scott couldn't help but grin as he watched her walk back inside.

* * *

A.N.:

There really is a lingerie shop called the House of Lounge located in the Garden District. The address is 2044 Magazine St.

__

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing

is by Aerosmith for the movie _Armageddon_.

I'm using the movies that came out last May for time frame purposes. I thought it would be silly if I used current movies when the story is currently taking place around May/June.

Some people have commented about accents and why Rogue and Remy haven't lost theirs, or why Rogue doesn't have a more Cajun accent. I've decided to keep their original accents for identification purposes and to keep things less complicated.

Comicfn – Well, the truth usually comes out eventually. Keep your eyes peeled!

Bunny angel – No promises on couples yet. :)

Snow queen2 – I seem to be getting mixed responses on who readers want Rogue with. Very interesting.

Blink182dbzluver – Thanks!

Yumiko – I'll do my best to keep those updates coming. I will finish this but no promises on the time frame.

Khay – Glad you like the story.

Katrina – Denial does make things interesting, doesn't it? You just don't know how everyone's going to react.

Rogue77 – A lot of people have been asking me if I have seen that movie. No, I haven't but I'm thinking I should.

Panther Nesmith – Hmmm. I don't think Remy finding out the truth will be as bad as some might think. He has worse things to look forward to. ;)

Carla-p – Always nice to have fans cheering me on.

T – I hope you continue to love it as the story unravels.

Aro – Why kill off characters when you can do other fun stuff with them? :)

DemonRogue13 – I'm happy that you think so.

Ishandhalf – Hopefully, everyone hops onto the romy trolly, though I think that they will encounter a few obstacles before catching up to it and it's hard to say who's really going to get on.

Rogue Warrior Spirit – Thanks for the feedback. Glad to know I'm somewhat on track!

Caliente – It will be quite exciting when Remy finds out, won't it?

Sage – Thanks!

TigerStorm – Is there really a nice way of telling someone you've been lying to them for ten years? I think that right now some things are better left unsaid.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Belle laughed at the comment that Remy made, but inside she could not understand what was so funny. They were sitting inside _Stormy's_, her favorite restaurant. The evening had started out really well. He had been a complete gentleman so far and she was totally swept away by his charm. They had chatted amicably while waiting for the server to come take their order. Then, he had definitely impressed her with his good taste in food. They talked a while longer, but by the time their food came, she was finding it difficult to keep up conversation with him. Currently, he was talking about an old memory that she simply could not find the humor in.

Remy looked over at Belle as he quieted down and focused on his meal. Something was off. Belle seemed to be not fitting the impression he had received through the letters. The first thing that had thrown him off was the restaurant. While it was a nice place, it seemed too 'classy' for what he had expected. It was a nice place for a date, with its cascading indoor waterfalls, elegant chandeliers and top-notch service, but she didn't seem to strike him as a person who ordered caviar as an appetizer. Right now, she wasn't responding to his current line of conversation the way he had expected her to. She had totally missed an inside joke he was sure she should have got, based on their letters, and she looked a little confused by some of the things he said. Mebbe I jus' interpreted de letters wrong. He decided to take a different approach.

"So tell me about y'r actin'. What are y' workin' on now?"

She immediately sat up with interest at the changed in subject. "Right now we're rehearsin' for our production dat's comin' out after graduation. It's called _The King and I_. Have y' heard o' dat one?"

"I t'ink so. Is dat similar to de movie _Anna and de King_?"

"Yeah, but dat movie wasn' a musical. De one I'm doin' is a musical. I'm really excited 'bout it 'cause I got de lead role. Dat's really hard in de actin' troupe I'm in right now 'cause I'm one o' de youngest ones dere."

"Doesn' dat story have an Asian settin'?"

"Yeah, but dat's okay. Don' have t'be Asian t'play an Asian part."

"Dat's true," he agreed, taking a bite of his chicken.

Both were silent before Remy spoke again.

"Can I ask y' somet'in?"

"O'course. Y' can ask me anyt'in'," she said with a smile.

He grinned back, admiring the way her smile lit up her face. "Why didn' y' tell me dat y' were so into actin'?"

She put down her fork and dabbed at her mouth with her napkin before responding. She looked at him again, looking at bit bashful and maybe a little guilty? "Honestly? I was afraid. I didn' know how y' would take it. I didn' want y' t' t'ink I was doin' somet'ing foolish. So many people t'ink dat actin' has no future an' dat it's better t' go t' college and get a real career, like Rogue wants. But I jus' fell in love wit' actin' an' dancin' an' I'm good at it. I do like readin' and learnin' an' stuff, but I want to see where dis takes me first. I can always go t'college. I have good grades an' everyt'ing. But I see dis as a once in a lifetime opportunity. When I got accepted to de Academy I was so excited I had t'tell y'. I'm sorry dat I wasn' straight wit' y' before. I was jus' t' scared to chance y' t'inkin' diff'rent of me."

Remy took her hand that was resting on the table and placed a small kiss on her fingers. "Oh, Belle. Don' ever t'ink y' have t' be scared o' me t'inkin' diff'rent of y'. I would have completely supported y' on dis. It's what y' love. An' don' let anyone make y' t'ink it's stupid. Like y' said, y' have t' be pretty damn good t'get into de Academy. I looked it up," he assured her with a sincere smile. To his delight she seemed to visibly brighten, like a large weight was lifted off her shoulders.

"Y' don' know how much dat means to me. I hated havin' to hide it for so long. I felt so terrible not tellin' y' de truth," Belle gushed with relief.

"Well, y' don' have t' feel bad anymore. If anyt'in' we're still friends first. I could never judge y'. Y' mean too much." He flashed her another grin before releasing her hand and continuing with his meal.

Belle returned to her own meal, positively glowing on the inside. Rogue didn' even need to worry. I'm not a damn good actress for not'in'.

_

* * *

_

I just wanna hold you close  
Feel your heart so close to mine  
And just stay here in this moment  
For all the rest of time

_Yeah, yeah, yeeeaaahhhh_

"Ya know, Scott, ya can feel free to sing along," Rogue told him with a smirk.

Scott groaned. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Ya better believe it."

They were driving back from one of the local fast food restaurants that Rogue had recommended. She swore they had the best barbecue chicken sandwiches because the meat was barbecued fresh daily. Scott was inclined to agree without even a taste; the smell emanating from the bags was enough to make his stomach grumble louder.

"I hope your right about these sandwiches. Or, at least they better taste as good as they smell."

"They do. If Ah'm wrong, Ah won't tell anymore people about your wonderful singing voice," she compromised

"Any _more_? You've told people about that?!" he asked incredulously.

"Not really a lot of people. Just some of the gals at work," she replied innocently.

"Why the hell would you tell them about that?"

"Ah couldn't help it! The song came on at work and Ah just broke down in a fit of giggles."

"You didn't really have to tell them the real reason," he huffed, crossing his arms.

"Oh, Scott. Ya don't have to worry. It ain't like they knew who Ah was talkin' about," she tried to reason.

"That's not the point."

"Hey, just think of it this way: every time Ah hear this song now ya know Ah'm gonna think of ya."

"That is so comforting," he muttered, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Rogue smiled brilliantly. "Ah knew ya'd see it my way."

She parked the jeep in front of her house and they walked back over to Remy's. Heading straight to the kitchen, Scott sat down at the table with the bags of food while she pulled two sodas out of the fridge.

"So, how ya likin' New Orleans so far?" she asked, taking a seat opposite of him.

"It's really nice," he told her, handing her a sandwich. "It's just a different world from New York and Paris. Everyone seems friendlier around here."

"Ah'm glad ya like it. Remy been takin' ya around?"

"Yeah, we went to a few places like the French Quarter and some other tourist attractions. Most of the time I just like hanging out around here or going down to that coffee shop you showed us. Last semester was kind of taxing so I like being able to just relax for a change."

"Yeah, Ah hear ya. It's been a while since Ah've had a free summer. Usually always had something to do between work and school and extracurricular activities."

"What are you planning to do this summer?"

"Nothing much," Rogue answered between bites. "Gotta pack and get ready to head up to New York. Figured Ah'd head up there a couple weeks before school starts just to get a feel for the place."

"That's a good idea," Scott agreed. "Remy and I did that before we moved. We figured we might have a hard time getting used to American life again."

"Did you?" Rogue asked, curious.

"A little. Driving as really different and people's attitudes were different. In Paris, we had a lot of access to American shows and stuff so we knew what the culture was like, but it was different actually being here."

"Do ya miss France?"

Scott chewed thoughtfully. "Sometimes. Mostly I miss my family and my brother, but I miss other things, too, like the Lourve, and the Eiffel Tower and sitting out at one of the cafés just enjoying the scenery. That's one thing I like best about being here. Some places remind me a bit of home."

She nodded in understanding. "Are ya going to go back to visit?"

"Uh huh, in July, after Remy's family moves back. Then I'll just fly back to New York from there."

"Aw. So you won't be road trippin' back to New York with me?" she pouted playfully.

Scott shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not big on road trips."

"Really? Why not?"

"Most of the time, I just don't see the point of driving somewhere when you can fly there and get there faster. Gives you more time to spend at your destination."

"Ya sound like Belle. She never wanted to drive anywhere that required over two hours in a car one way unless she was riding in a limo."

"I guess she's not going to be driving up with you then?"

"Nope. She doesn't start up there until mid-September anyway. Her father has already secured a place for her up there, too, so there's no need for her to apartment hunt."

"So who's going to drive up with you?"

"Ah already talked it over with Remy. He seemed all excited about it, too, unlike someone Ah know." She winked at him.

"No doubt about that. He used to try and drag me on all kinds of road trips. Germany, Austria, Spain. He likes being out on the road."

"Ah kinda do, too. Ya get to see so much along the way, so many things ya couldn't see from a plane."

Scott chuckled. "That's funny. That's the exact same thing he used to tell me."

"What can Ah say?" she told him dramatically. "Great minds think alike."

"Either that or your both crazy," Scott added.

"Then ya must be crazy to hang with us," she returned.

He shook his head again, but not in disagreement. "Must you have an answer to everything?"

"Ah try." She batted her eyelashes. "It's one of my better qualities."

He rolled his eyes. "Right."

"See? Ah knew ya'd agree."

Both ate silently for a while and Rogue did not speak up until Scott finished his sandwich. "So, how was the food?"

"Great!"

She smiled smugly. "Guess Ah can still rave about your mad singin' skills then?"

Scott looked at her for a moment, confused. Then his eyes narrowing accusingly, as realization dawned on him. "Hey! You did that on purpose!"

"Ah have no idea what you are talking about," she told him sweetly.

"You knew I was going to lie about the sandwich! You tricked me into telling the truth!"

She looked at him with feigned hurt. "Ya were going to lie to me?"

Scott sputtered for a response. "No! I mean, yes! I mean,-" he stopped as he saw Rogue start to crack up.

"Calm down, sugah! It was just a little mind trick!" she said, trying to keep her giggles to minimum.

"What do you mean, 'mind trick'?"

"Do ya watch _Friends_?"

"No."

"What?! That's like the best show!"

"In your opinion. I just don't see how it's exciting to watch six people interact with each other on what seems like a daily basis. It's like they have no life."

"That's blasphemous! Take it back!"

"No. And you're getting off track. What's this Jedi mind trick you're talking about?"

"It's not a Jedi mind trick. Anyhow, in one episode, one of the characters asks the other to clear their mind and just say the first thing that popped into their head after she asked them a question. It's supposed to get you to answer what you feel subconsciously. Ah waited for ya to clear your mind and asked you the question about the sandwich. Ya answered what you felt subconsciously, not giving your mind time to think of an answer, thereby preventing ya from lying to me and making me keep my promise."

"Okaaay. That's a bit far out."

"Look, Ah'll try it on you to show ya it works. Clear your mind and focus on me. Answer the first thing that comes to your mind and answer quick." Both sat up straight and locked eyes.

"Is the glass half empty or half full?"

"Half empty."

"Who's better: Britney or Christina?"

"Christina."

"What would you rather be: hot or cold?"

"Hot."

"Dry or wet?"

"Dry."

"Naughty or nice?"

"Nice."

"Boobs or ass?"

"Ass." Scott's hand flew to his mouth. "I can't believe I just answered that."

"See? It works."

"That is kinda cool, or, at least as cool as manipulating someone could be. Can I try?"

"Sure." Rogue cleared her mind and locked eyes with Scott once again.

"Which do you prefer: winter or summer?"

"Winter."

"Christmas or birthday?

"Birthday."

"Roses or chocolate?"

"Roses."

"Red or black?"

"Red."

"Hugs or kisses?"

"Hugs."

"Belle or Remy?"

"Remy."

The kitchen went silent. "Really?" Scott was only mildly surprised. "Why?"

"Ah dunno." Rogue was more than a little shocked at her answer. "That was weird. Didn't know Ah felt that way."

"Yeah, I thought you and Belle were way better friends. Maybe it's because Remy's here."

"Maybe." She thought a moment. "Ah always used to feel closer to him than Ah did with Belle when we were little, though. And we've had so much fun together since he came back. It's like almost nothing has changed, or that we weren't apart for so many years. Weird."

"Not really. You guys just kind of picked up where you left off. I think it's cool to have a friendship like that."

Rogue sat in silence for a bit, not really knowing what to say. Finally, Scott spoke up. "So, uh, do you want to watch those movies now?"

"Yeah. What do ya got?"

"_The Transporter_, _Catch Me If You Can_, and _The Hot Chick_. What do you want to watch first?"

"Let's go with _The Hot Chick_. Ah didn't see that one in the theater."

Both stood and cleared their mess. "Is there any popcorn here?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah." Scott pulled out a microwave packet and handed it to her.

"Great! Can't watch a movie without popcorn." She read the packet. "And it's the kind with extra butter! Yum!" she said as she placed the packet into the microwave.

They waited for the popcorn before heading to the family room. As they walked, Scott spoke again. "You know, I can see why Remy missed you so much when you didn't write."

"Really? Why?"

"You're a pretty fun person to hang out with."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Too bad Ah can't say the same about ya."

"Hey!"

* * *

Belle and Remy sat at the back of the theater waiting for the movie to start. There were hardly any people in there. Prob'ly all watchin' de _Matrix_, Remy thought sadly. A part of him still couldn't believe he was sitting her watching a chick flick. Even when he went on other movie dates he never had to suffer through something like this. His only condolence was the look of glee on Belle's face when he told her what they were seeing. He looked over at her as she continued to chat animatedly on her cell. Every once in a while she would emit a high pitched squeal and then proceed to talk faster.

Absently, he ate some more of his popcorn. Dinner had ended great and they had even had a rather enjoyable walk around town to kill time before the movie started. However, as soon as they got to the theater, everything seemed to take a wrong turn. Not only was he being subjected to a movie he didn't really want to see but Belle had practically scolded him in the concession line.

--

"How can y' eat again? We jus' had dinner!"

"I know, Belle, but I can' watch a movie wit'out popcorn. It's like a cardinal sin."

When he asked for extra butter, she jumped on him again.

"Dat is so unhealt'y for y'. Y' might as well just ask t'get fat."

"Do y' see any fat on me?" he asked her, eyebrow arched.

"No, but it's still not good f'r y'."

Just to spite her, he ordered a box of Junior Mints and a large Pepsi.

--

Belle hung up just as the movie previews started. "Colin Farrell is so sexy," she whispered when the trailer for _S.W.A.T._ came on. Remy didn't respond, opting to take a large gulp of his soda.

When the preview for _Daredevil_ started, she commented again. "Ben Affleck looks really good in dis movie."

"An' de lucky dog gets to lock lips wit' Jennifer Garner an' J.Lo. What I wouldn't give t'be in his place," he whispered back. Belle made no more comments.

When the movie finally started six previews later, Remy groaned inwardly. He was at least hoping that the actress in the movie would attractive enough to keep his attention. However, Renee Zellweger was no where near his top-ten list of sexy celebrities. Probably no where near his top-fifty list either.

At the end of the movie, Belle couldn't help but be in a good mood. She had loved it and Ewan McGregor was so hot! She looked over at Remy to ask what he thought and couldn't help but feel a little upset. Head leaned back, eyes closed and breathing deeply, she realized that Remy had fallen asleep.

Shutting the front door, Remy couldn't help but feel irritated. The ride home had been completely silent. He had apologized for falling asleep, using the excuse that he had developed a terrible headache. She had told him it was fine, that she wasn't mad, but she didn't say anything after that until he walked her to her front door.

* * *

"I had a great time wit' y'," he told her with forced enthusiasm.

"Me, too. Sorry 'bout de headache. Y' should take some medicine for dat," she returned.

"_Oui_, I will." They stood there for a minute, the situation completely awkward. Finally, Remy placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Belle."

"T'anks." She half-smiled for an instant and then walked into the house, shutting the door behind her. Remy heard the door lock with an audible click.

* * *

He resisted gritting his teeth in frustration. The night did not go how he had planned at all. It was too stressful, and for him, dates were not stressful. Usually by the end of dinner girls were practically drooling over him and the dinner was subsequently followed by a rather steamy make out session. It was almost guaranteed that none of that would be happening anytime in the near future.

He strode through the house, intent on heading straight to bed, when a noise from the family room caught his attention. He figured that Scott would have been asleep by now.

Walking into the room he saw the T.V. was on and the menu screen from _The Transporter_ was playing. The background noise from the television was what had caught his attention. A near empty bowl of popcorn sat on the coffee table, along with two soda cans and a glass of water. A packet of M&M's was spilled out next to the popcorn. He looked to the couch and couldn't help but feel irritated with Scott on sight. Rogue was nestled comfortably under a blanket, her head propped up by a pillow at one end of the couch, sound asleep. At the opposite end, Scott sat, also asleep, his head resting against the back of the couch, Rogue's feet on his lap.

Remy could feel sharp pangs of envy lanced through him. While he was on the worst date ever, Scott had spent the evening with Rogue, watching _The Transporter_, a movie he would have liked a whole lot better than the one he just spent twenty bucks on. He was about to wake Scott when a faint buzzing noise reached his ears. He looked down to see Rogue's phone flashing. Picking it up he saw that Belle was calling and hit the button to answer.

"Hello?" he said quietly.

"Who de hell is dis?"

Remy closed his eyes and rubbed his temple with his free hand. "It's Remy, Belle."

"Oh, Remy! I'm sorry, didn' recognize y'." She had the decency to sound sheepish. "Y' scared me for a moment, t'ought Rogue was wit' a stranger or somet'in'."

"No, she's here. She's passed out on de couch. Want me t'wake her?"

"No, it's okay. She gets all cranky when someone wakes her up an' she sleeps like a bear. I was jus' worried 'bout her, is all. She was supposed t'stay over." Belle sounded so sincere on the phone that Remy could feel some of his earlier animosity drain away. Plus, he thought she had a sexy phone voice.

"Y'sure y' don' want me t'wake her?"

"No, it's alright. I was jus' 'bout to go t'bed anyway. Can y' jus' have her call me tomorrow?"

"Sure t'ing. Sleep well."

"I will. Y'too."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Remy had wandered over to the entryway to the family room during the conversation and turned around to put the phone back. He saw Scott had already gotten up and was placing Rogue's feet gently onto the couch. "Hey," he said in greeting. "How was the dream date?"

"It was alright. De movie was a snoozer, dough."

"I figured it would be. You're a brave man for watching it." He picked up the remote to turn off the equipment.

"Dat's okay, _mon__ ami_. I t'ink I may stay up an' watch a bit."

"Okay." Scott put the remote back down and stretched.

"Y' bot' have a good time?"

"Yeah, it was cool. I can see why y' missed Rogue so much. She really is a lot of fun. You're lucky to have a friend like her."

"Tell me about it." His gaze traveled to Rogue. She looked so peaceful sleeping there. He looked back to Scott and attempted a smile. "Glad y' had a good time together."

"Yeah, me too." Scott smiled back and headed out of the room. "I'm going to head to bed. Are you going to wake up Rogue?"

"No. Belle told me t' jus' let her crash here. Said she gets cranky if she's woken up."

"That wouldn't be pretty. Well, have a good night then. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," he assured him. Scott left the room and Remy plopped down on one of the recliners, rubbing his eyes. He reached over for the remote and commanded the DVD player to play the movie, setting the volume down low. Twenty minutes into the movie he, too, was sound asleep.

* * *

A.N.:

I do feel bad that my updates are irregular, but they coincide with my job. During my down times I update. The periods in between are when I have projects to work on. I'm getting better at what I do so hopefully I won't spend so much time on the projects!

I was ecstatic to see so many reviews for the last chapter, though. Lots of appreciation for all those who have stuck by since the beginning and a warm welcome to the new reviewers who have popped up! I definitely take into consideration your responses. They sort of lead me in what direction I should go in. Even though I have the ending somewhat concrete, that doesn't mean I can't make some adjustments!

Lastly, none of the opinions expressed in this chapter are necessarily the opinion of the author. I hope nobody was too offended!

**The Little Prophet **– Glad to see that you were able to find my story. Hope that you continue to enjoy it!

**Snow queen2** – Warren may pop up sometime in the future but I think it's pretty safe to say that he and Rogue are not going to be romantically linked. She said so herself that there was no chemistry there. Nice to see that Scott does have a few cheerleaders out there. A few people have mentioned that he seems weird and obsessed. What do you think about that?

**Michelle** – Thank you so much for the ego boost. It seriously does motivate me to write more, especially when I know so many people are enjoying what I write. By the way, did the whole 'my dog ate my homework excuse' work for you?

**Lightspeed**** Suzuka** – If I was Rogue, I don't think I'd be able to tell Remy the truth straight out. I sometimes fall victim to the 'some things are better left unsaid' tidbit of advice and I see that applying to this situation. However, the truth always does slip out at some point! By the end of the story I don't know if everyone will have someone to be with. I hadn't originally planned on it but since so many readers are looking for that I may have to throw it in there. Or, I can just have another 'what the hell?!' ending like I did in my other story _In Another Lifetime_ (shameless plug, I know). Guess we'll just see how much I can be swayed by public response!

**Notthecrazystarwarsfan** – Ha ha ha! Thanks! Those Star Wars references just slipped in there but I'm glad they did! Scott does seem to be a bit much, huh? No worries. He really isn't that bad. He just has that whole 'obsessed with Rogue since she was eight' stereotype to get past. I have seen the Two Towers but not the extended version. I'll add that to my 'to do' list. Thanks for the references. I have a pretty good idea of how the truth is going to come out and I sure you will find it quite interesting to see how everyone reacts to it. Stay tuned!

**Blink182dbzluver** – Thank you! I'll try to keep the updates coming as soon as I can. I've already got a few of the ending chapters completed so once I get past all the events leading up to that the updates should be more regular. Keep your fingers crossed!

**Taya26** – Everyone seem to be on the edge of their seats, waiting for Remy to find out the truth. Would it be incredible cruel to keep you all stringing along for, like 20 chapters? Uh, not that I would do that or anything . . .

**Ishandahalf** – Lingerie shops are fun. Really glad you're enjoying things so far. Keep an eye out for what's in store. Rogue and Remy may not be locked in a room together for extended periods of time, but I'm sure they will have quite a bit of alone time together. They are best friends after all, espcially if Belle stays busy. ;)

**Aro** – I really think everyone is wondering how he will take it. It will be quite interesting when that comes about. I do hope you enjoy the reactions and repercussions!

**Pather**** Nesmith** – Ever wonder how anyone could like the name that also means 'Naughty Man's Cherries' and 'Devil's Cherries'? Sounds degrading. Guess it fits mutant Remy pretty well, though. :) Belladonna losing it? Let's just say her true personality will come through at some point.

**The Rogue Cajun** – Thank you much! I'll do my best to keep you interested.

**Roguie-89** – I get this question a lot. You know that Remy is _somehow_ going to find out the truth. How the story progresses will impact how he reacts.

**TigerStorm** – So happy you continue to find this story enjoyable. I was a little concerned about how the story was progressing but so far everything looks to be okay!

**T.** – Yeah, I don't know how much more Belle will tolerate. I guess that just all depends on how much she wants to be with Remy.

**Rogue Warrior Spirit** – Thanks for the encouragement. Usually, the bigger the lie, the harder it is to keep up. I can tell you that the whole truth won't come out to everyone at once, though. As for the extra characters, I figured that since this was set under the Evo genre, I should at least figure out how to integrate at least some of them. Some will have bigger parts than others, and hopefully you will like their integration as well.

**ChaosCat** – So that was the big date. How do you think it went?

**Rogue77** – Fire and ice roses do exist, they are actually my best friend's favorite. These particular roses are two-toned colored, typically red with white tips. I think you are one of the only people to think that it will be funny when the truth comes out. :) The movie I based this off of is actually an Indian movie (from India) called _Mujhse__ Dosti Karoge_. Still haven't found out what it means yet but I will. The basic premise of the story is what I have based my story off of, but all of the filler detail does not follow. Since the movie is from a different culture, some of what is in the movie wouldn't translate well into our culture so I changed it to fit. The first chapter mirrors the movie the most.

**Katrina5** – Yup, all those characters at my mercy. It is nice to be able to manipulate them into doing what I want.

**Nie**** Starwhistler** – Thanks for reading! Don't worry, I definitely plan on seeing this through to the end. I'm really enjoying writing this. Plus, it would be a shame if I never got to post the ending chapters I've written.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Remy was pulled back to consciousness by the faint sounds of an explosion. Opening his eyes, he saw that the movie was still playing. Trying to clear his eyes from the clouds of sleep, he sought out a clock. Seeing the ice blue numbers, he determined that he had only dozed for about half an hour. Reaching for the remote, he clicked off the movie and the television. Getting up from the chair he looked over at Rogue and saw that she appeared to still be sleeping. One arm had escaped the confines of the blanket and was draped over the arm of the chair. She had shifted so her face was now nestled in the crook of her arm.

Looking at her, just seeing her sleeping peacefully, Remy couldn't help but be reminded of how happy he felt at being home. His parents and brother were off in another country and he missed them, but being here, being around Rogue and Belle, was well worth the sacrifice. Granted, he and Belle had not exactly finished the evening on a happy note, but he wasn't too worried about it anymore. As he had told her at the restaurant, if anything, they were still friends. Besides, he rationalized, they had spent ten years keeping in contact. He couldn't let one sour evening mess things up between them.

Ascending the stairs to his room, he reflected on how incredibly lucky he felt. He was so thankful that Rogue and Belle had come back into his life. Scott was a great friend, and he had made many more friends in college, but collectively they could not feel the void he had felt when he left New Orleans all those years ago.

Pushing open his door, he went straight over to his desk chair and retrieved the sweats and long sleeved T-shirt he had dumped there earlier this morning. He changed quickly, shivering a bit as the chill air briefly touched upon his bare skin. Climbing into bed, he burrowed under the covers, ready and willing to let the comfort of the pillows and blankets lull him back to sleep.

Just as Remy finally fell back asleep, a strangled cry jolted him back to wakefulness. Knowing the only logical source was Rogue, he threw back the covers and raced back down the stairs and into the family room. Fumbling along the wall for the light switch, he finally located it and flipped it into the on position. Trying to force his eyes to adjust to the invading light at a faster pace, he looked to the couch to see that Rogue had fallen off and was on the floor, jerking under the now tangled blanket. Tears leaked out from under tightly closed eyes as she began to whimper. Remy was at her side in an instant, trying to shake her out of her obvious nightmare.

"Rogue," he called out in a soothing voice laced with urgency, "_chére_, wake up. C'mon, Rogue, y' gotta wake up."

He continued calling out to her until her eyes suddenly snapped open. He could see the wild fear in those emerald depths and went to work trying to break through the haze of sleep that still gripped her.

"Rogue? Y' alright?"

"No! Let me out! Get me outta here!" She lashed out with a fist, catching Remy in the chest, hard.

'Ow! Dat hurt!' He quickly grabbed a hold of her wrists to prevent her from hitting him again. "Rogue! It's me! Remy! Y' gotta snap outta it!" He held on as she still struggled in his grasp, her eyes still unfocused. Suddenly, she stopped moving. His gaze never left her face and he watched her go from panic to defeat.

"Please, let me out," she pleaded in a small voice. It broke his heart.

He released her arms slowly and they fell limply at her sides. Gently, he reached out to cup her face in both hands and looked her dead in the eyes. "Rogue, it's me, _chére_. It's Remy. It's okay. Y'r safe. Y'r free. I got y'," he whispered tenderly.

Her eyes closed once more and a small sob escaped her lips.

Remy shifted positions so that he was now sitting and pulled Rogue's upper body into his lap so that he could cradle her in his arms. He hugged her tightly to him as she continued to cry softly. Her fingers clutched at his shirt like a lifeline. Eventually, her tears slowly subsided and she faded into sleep once more.

"Is she okay?"

Remy looked up sharply to see Scott standing in the doorway, concern etched on his face.

"I t'ink so," he replied. He moved slightly, seeing if he could shift out from under her. A small whimper fell from her lips so he stopped moving. "Did y' hear her, too?"

"No. Just heard your door slam against the wall and someone running down the stairs." Scott walked over and crouched next to the couple. "What happened to her?"

Remy looked down and smoothed some of Rogue's hair away from her face. She looked peaceful once more, just as he had left her when he had retired to his room. "I t'ink it was a nightmare."

Scott was a little confused. "You knew how to handle it."

"Rogue has a history of dem. Not really like night terrors but dey freak her out real bad sometimes. I don't t'ink she even woke up from dis one. Probably won' remember what happened in de morning. Didn' know she still suffered from dese t'ings. I remember de first time we had a sleepover in de tree house. We got so freaked out when she started screamin'. Her mom taught us how t'handle dem. Gotta be real soothin' wit' her, let her know she's okay."

"That's terrible. Does she know what triggers them?" Scott asked, speaking softly.

"Anythin' I guess. Depends on how active her mind is before she goes t'bed. Tonight she kept screamin' for someone to let her out, like she was trapped."

Realization flashed across Scott's face. "In the beginning of _The Transporter_ a girl is tossed in the trunk of a car."

"Dat could be it." He tried to move once more but Rogue protested the disturbance. "Damn, guess I'm stuck."

"Maybe you should stay with her. She looked pretty scared."

"Don' t'ink I got much of a choice on dat one. Can y' grab me a pillow an' a blanket? Looks like I'm sleepin' down her tonight."

"Yeah, no problem." Scott disappeared back up the stairs and returned moments later with the requested items. Remy had managed to scoot up against the couch so his back rested against it so Scott arranged the pillow to try and support his head as he leaned against the seat. He wrapped the blanket around his friend as best he could and fixed Rogue's blanket back around her body.

"T'anks, Scott."

"No problem. Want me to kill the lights?"

"Yeah. Dat would be great."

"Alright. Good night. Call me if you need anything."

"I will. Night."

* * *

Rogue woke slowly but kept her eyes closed, not wanting to get up just yet. She was off today so she might as well take advantage and sleep in. Sighing softly she snuggled into her pillow, enjoying how comfortably warm she felt. Suddenly, she felt something tighten around her body and she stiffened. Opening her eyes she saw that her pillow was not a pillow at all. Instead, it was a person's body. In a panic she tried to throw herself off but found she couldn't get very far because whoever it was didn't let go.

"Rogue?"

She stopped struggling at the call of her name. Whatever it was that had restrained her slid off her body and she sat up slowing and saw Remy staring at her quizzically.

"Y' okay?"

"Uh, yes?" She was confused. Looking around her and saw that she was still at Remy's house, lying on the floor. Noticing her proximity to her friend, she realized she must have been sleeping against him. Her eyes narrowed. "What happened?" She looked at Remy who was rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Y' jus' woke up."

She rolled her eyes. "Thank ya for lettin' me know that. What happened last night?"

"We slept on de floor."

She could feel the impatience bud within her. "Yes, Ah can see that. Can ya explain to me _why_ we slept on the floor?"

He noticed the subtle change in tone. She was irritated with his response. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to joke with her about this. It was way too early in the morning. Flippant responses were not the best to wake up to. He should be a good friend. Especially after last night. He should be more sensitive to what had happened.

"Y' got all clingy when I tried to go to my own room."

But, even though he felt better about it, she did send him to see that awful movie.

"What the hell are ya talkin' about?" Belle was right, she was cranky when she woke up.

"Seriously. Ask Scott. He saw de whole t'ing." He tried not to smile. Riling her up was so easy.

"Remy Lebeau, Ah am two seconds away from punchin' your lights out."

"Sorry, _chére_. Already too late for dat. Y'got me good last night." He lifted his shirt and showed her the bruise he knew had formed overnight.

Her scowl lessened at the sight of the ugly purple mark. "Remy, quit messin' around. What happened last night?"

His response died on his lips when he felt her feather-light touch on his chest. Looking down he saw her tracing the mark, her scowl now a grimace. He pulled down his shirt, forcing her to jerk back her hand.

"It was nothin' serious, _chére_. Just a dream."

"A dream-?" Then it dawned on her. "Ah had a nightmare last night."

Remy hoisted himself onto the couch. "Like I said, no big deal."

"No big deal?! Look what Ah did!"

"I set myself up for dat one. Forgot Irene's first rule: grab her hands so she don' hit y' on accident."

She got up to sit in the recliner. "Do ya know what Ah was dreamin' about?"

"I t'ink y' were trapped somewhere. Kept yellin' to be let out."

"Oh. Ah'm sorry Ah hit ya."

"Don' be sorry. Ain' really y'r fault." He glanced over at her. She was curled up on the recliner, looking despondent. "Why didn' y' tell me dat y' still had dose dreams?"

She shrugged. "Ah don't really get them much anymore. Last time Ah had one was over a year ago."

"Y' look really upset."

"Not really. It's just that my mom and Ah talked about this right before she left. About what it would be like for my roommate at school."

"Don' worry about it. I can get it so dat y'r on de same floor as me an' Scott."

"How ya gonna do that?"

"One of my friends is on de work study program and works in de Residential Life office. She made it so dat me an' Scott shared a room last year and dis year. She can put y' on our floor."

"Ah think that would make my mom feel better." She attempted to run her fingers through her hair but ended up getting them caught up in a mess of tangles. "Ugh. Guess Ah should go make myself presentable." Getting up she went to locate her belongings.

Remy watched as she found her shoes and slipped them on and then moved to the table where she left her purse and phone. "Oh, Belle wanted y' t'call her. She tried to get a hold of y' last night an' I told her y' were sleepin'," he said as he got up to walk with her to her door.

"Okay, thanks. Oh, how did it go last night?"

"Yeah, about that," he paused for a minute, shutting the front door. "Do y' t'ink we can do lunch again today?"

"Um, yeah, Ah guess," she answered, very curious as to what happened last night.

"Just call me when y'r ready. I'll come get y'."

"Okay," she looked at him oddly.

"I'll tell you later."

Accepting this she said good-bye and entered her house with the distinct feeling that last night didn't really work out as well as she had hoped.

* * *

"Everyt'in' was fine 'til we went to de movies. I don' know what happened den."

Belle sat on Rogue's bed as she watched the other girl dry her hair. Rogue was going curly today so the diffuser was much quieter, enabling them to talk.

"Tell me what happened after ya got to the theater."

"We had to stand in line so he could buy some popcorn an' stuff. I told him dat stuff was fattening."

Rogue looked at Belle in disbelief. "Why the hell would ya say that?"

"'Cause it is!"

Rogue rolled her eyes. Sure, she told her and their other friends the same thing every time they went to the movies together, but it was totally wrong to say on a date. "Do ya really say that to all y'r dates?"

"No! I don' know what happened. It just slipped out!"

"Okay, great. Strike one, ya treated him like one of your friends. What happened next?"

"Den Nikki called and she told me dat she finally ain' a virgin anymore."

Yeah, that's real important. "How long were ya on the phone?"

"From de concession line 'til de movie previews started." Belle checked the time of the call on her cell and compared it to the movie start time. "About fifteen minutes."

"Wonderful. Strike two, ya straight ignored him for fifteen minutes. Continue."

"Den de previews started. We've got to see _S.W.A.T._! Colin Farrell looks so yummy in dat one!"

"Fine, but back on track. What else happened?"

"He tol' me dat Ben Affleck was lucky t'get to kiss Jennifer Garner an' J.Lo an' dat he would love t'trade places wit' him."

"Well, that seems pretty insensitive. Why would he say that?"

Belle suddenly found her nails quite interesting. "I might've said dat Colin Farrell was sexy."

Rogue shut off the dryer. "Okay, basically, ya called him fat, ignored him, and then complimented another man in his presence. Belle, Ah thought ya were excited about this date?"

"I was! I'm really attracted to him an' everyt'in'. I don' know what happened last night!"

"Ya treated him as if he were me. That's what happened."

"So now what?"

"Now ya have to think of a good apology. Ah have no doubt that he'll still want to see ya again, so don't worry about that."

"An' apology? I don' do apologies."

"Well, either ya start or ya think of somethin' just as good." Her eyes darted to the clock out of habit. "Hey, don' ya got rehearsals or somethin' in twenty minutes?"

Belle looked at the clock herself and jumped from the bed. "Shit! I'm gonna be late! We'll talk later. I'll t'ink of somet'in'! Later!" she called as she ran out the door.

Belle raced down the stairs. She flung open the front door and was positively startled to see someone standing on the other side.

"Hey, Belle."

She blinked in obvious surprise. "Remy! What're y' doin' here?" She hadn't planned on seeing him so soon.

"Oh, um," he faltered a bit. He wasn't sure if he should tell the truth. He didn't want her to think that he was going to talk to Rogue about their date. "I was jus' checkin' in on Rogue. She had a nightmare last night and seemed pretty bothered by it when she went home dis mornin'." That was a sufficient excuse.

Belle's surprise was immediately replaced with concern. "She had a nightmare? She didn' tell me 'bout it."

"Well, she did seem bugged by it. Mebbe she didn' wan' to talk 'bout it," he reasoned.

"Dat's true." She sighed. "Poor girl. Hasn' had one in a while. T'oght she was doin' okay. I'll have to talk t'her 'bout dat."

"Yeah."

They stood for a moment in awkward silence.

Remy cleared his throat. "Am I keepin' y'? Y' seemed t'be on y'r way out."

"Huh?" She looked up at him and then remembered her whole reason for leaving. "Oh! I have rehearsals."

"Well, don' let me make y' late." He stepped out of the way so she could exit the house.

"T'anks," she mumbled as she walked passed. "Um, I'll see y' later, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded with a faint smile.

She took off and he watched as she hurried back home. Cursing quietly under his breath, he entered the house and shut the door.

He ascended the stairs inaudibly and navigated himself to Rogue's room. As he approached the threshold he saw that the door was open and Rogue was standing at her vanity, her back to him.

"Hey, _chére_."

She jumped at his call and he heard something clatter to the vanity table. Her hand flew to her heart as she whipped around to face him.

"Holy Mother of God! Remy, Ah'm gonna kick your ass!"

He winced inwardly at her tone, but couldn't help but smile. That was the second time in two days. "Y' know, dat's de second time today y' threatened to do me bodily harm?"

"Ya scared the hell out of me!"

"I'm sorry, _chére_," he said, walking in the room. "I wasn' t'inkin'."

"Geez, ya can't keep sneakin' up on a girl like that." She turned back around and picked up her lip gloss, frowning at the mess it made when she dropped it. "Ah thought ya were gonna call first?"

"I was but I needed to get out before Scott cornered me. Wanted to have a private lunch." He wandered around the room, taking it all in. He hadn't stepped foot into her private domain in ten years. Needless to say, things definitely had changed.

The wooden bunk bed had been traded for a queen-sized canopy. The dollhouse was no where to be seen. Her old desk had been updated, along with her computer. The vanity was new and decorated with various makeup containers and hair care supplies. A large bookshelf sat against one wall and was filled to near capacity with all kinds of different titles. His eyes roamed over the spines, trying to get a feel for what she liked. One particular title caught his attention and he pulled it out. He flipped through the pages, noticing how worn they were and was surprised to find notes scrawled along the margins of nearly every page.

"Y' like _Gatsby_?"

"Yeah, it's one of my . . .," her voice faltered as her mind registered his question. Out of all the books Ah hid Ah had to forget about _that_ one? Rogue couldn't help but grimace. Prior to Remy's arrival in New Orleans, she had completed cleared out her room of anything that could give way to the fact that she was his real pen pal. Apparently, she overlooked some things.

Remy noticed the look on her face through the reflection in the vanity mirror. "Y' okay?"

She looked up and they made eye contact via the mirror. Damn. "Yeah, Ah'm okay."

He wasn't so sure. It seemed that the book had caused her reaction. "What were y' sayin' 'bout de book?"

She moved away from the mirror and to the closet, searching for something to wear. "Oh, uh, it's one of my required readings. Ah actually got it from Belle, since she already analyzed it and all."

"But y' do like the story?"

"Is that what Ah said?"

"Yeah, I t'ink so."

She turned around with a smile. "They why are ya askin'?"

"The face y' made. It looked like y' didn' like it," he explained, returning the book to its place on the shelf.

"Naw. Y' just reminded me that Ah gotta remember all that stuff for one of my finals," she told him on her way out the door. "Ah'm just gonna change. Then we can go."

"Okay." He wasn't sure if he bought her excuse, but it made sense. Taking a seat on the bench at the foot of her bed, he waited for her to continue getting ready.

"So, I tol' her I had a headache. She was quiet de whole ride home an' we kinda jus' parted ways after I walked her home. I just don' know what happened. I didn' expect dis at all."

Rogue felt terrible. Remy had just finished recounting his version of the previous night's events and it pretty much coincided with Belle's, with the exception of his falling asleep during the movie. Belle hadn't mentioned that. She had been inclined to reprimand him for that, but given the way he had been treated prior to that, it just didn't seem right.

Remy watched as Rogue sat in thoughtful silence, genuine sympathy shining from her eyes. They were tucked away in booth at a restaurant not too far from home. Most of the other patrons were older, most likely due to the early lunch hour, so they had been seated away from them in a back corner that gave a bit more privacy.

"Ah'm so sorry that ya had such a terrible night."

"Well, it wasn' all bad. At least we got along before de movie."

Rogue picked at her fries, trying to come up with a way to fix things. "Maybe movies should be avoided for a while. Do ya have any ideas?"

Remy mirrored her actions, picking at his own fries. Any ideas? "Well, I do want to try again. Maybe somet'in' less formal."

"How 'bout dancin'? Y'all got along great when we went dancin' the first time."

"Yeah, dat's true. But dere was other people around den, too."

"Maybe that's it. Maybe y'all need more time to reacquaint. Y'all haven't really seen each other much since ya got here. Maybe it was too soon for a formal date."

That made sense. He could count the number of times he had seen Belle since his arrival on one hand.

"Ah got it! Why don't we double?"

Remy looked at her sharply. "What?"

Rogue smiled, excited. "Ya know, double date. The next time ya take Belle out, Scott an' Ah will tag along. That way y'all won't feel pressured. Then, when ya want some alone time, ya can take off an' we won't feel offended."

A double date. Him and Belle going out with Scott and Rogue. On a date. Him and Belle. On a date. Scott and Rogue. On a date. Scott. Rogue. Date.

"I don' know 'bout dat." The whole idea made him extremely uneasy.

"Why not? Ah thought ya wanted to see Belle again?"

"I do. I, uh, I just don' know if Scott would go for dat." Yeah, right.

"Of course he would! Last night we talked about how cute y'all looked together."

Last night? Oh, yeah. They hung out together. Alone.

Rogue saw Remy cringe at her words. Finally, she understood. She narrowed her eyes. "Ah know why ya don' like it."

"I never said I didn' like it."

"You're doing it."

"Doin' what?"

"Bein' protective." She crossed her arms across her chest.

"I am not!"

"Yes, ya are."

"No, I'm not."

She raised an eyebrow. "Then ya don't like Scott."

"I never said dat!" he protested.

"Is there something wrong with him?"

"No!"

"Is he weird or somethin'?"

"Sometimes, but dat's not it."

"So Scott's okay?"

"Yeah."

She noticeably deflated, casting her gaze down at her food. "So, it's me then."

"What?!" He couldn't believe his ears.

"Ah'm not good enough for Scott."

"What de hell are y' talkin' 'bout?" This was getting ridiculous.

"Your not being protective, and Scott's a nice guy, so it must be me."

"I never said dat! Y'r puttin' words in my mouth!"

She sighed heavily. "So Scott's out. Guess Ah'll just have to find someone else who's not as good as Scott to take dancin' with me."

Not as good as Scott . . .? He envisioned a man, no boy, groping Rogue as they danced way too close.

"No! Y' are goin' wit' Scott an' dat's final. End of conversation."

"But-"

"No buts. We are all goin' dancin' together so we can make sure some strange pervert isn' bein' fresh wit' y'."

"If that's how ya feel . . ."

"Dat's exactly how I feel!" Frustrated with their conversation, he furiously began eating his lunch.

Both ate in silence. Halfway through the meal, it finally clicked and Remy looked back up at Rogue. She was waiting for him, a smug smile on her face.

"I can' believe I fell for dat."

* * *

A.N.:

Hmm. Another chapter down.

That whole date thing seems really dragged out. What do you guys think?

I was thinking about what else I have in store for this story and realized that it was going to be a lot longer than I thought. Might be a while before we see who Remy chooses and what happens when he finds out the truth . . .

Big thank you to RonWeasley1975 for finally translating the movie title for me! It means "Will You Be Friends With Me?"

****

Snow queem2

– Remy is oblivious because he doesn't see Rogue as a potential love interest. She's safely tucked away in the 'just friends' category. That doesn't mean he can't be attracted to her but he also believes that he's interested in Belle, based off of what he knows from the letters. The feelings he developed through reading the letters over the years have pretty much made him blind to what everyone else sees as completely obvious. I'm glad that you don't see Scott as being overly obsessed anymore. I really didn't want him to come off that way because I do like his character. Being an X-Man is what makes him so hard to deal with.****

Iceangel46

– Don't worry. As you can see, I'm planning on keeping the chapters coming.****

Raysofsunshine

– snaps out of trance like state Whoa. Did it work?****

Rogue Warrior Spirit

– Uh oh. The pressure's on. Gotta make sure I do a good job the evo character integration. Just kidding. Thank you for the compliment, though. And do feel free to continue to harass me about updates. Can't be slacking when I know I've got readers waiting on pins and needles.****

RonWeasley1975

– Thank you so much for providing me with that translation. I keep forgetting to ask what it means. I was wondering how long it would take to find someone else who had seen the movie. Hope my adaptation is to your liking.****

BlackTom

– I'm so happy that you are finding my story enjoyable. It is hard to write a story using no powers because having powers have such a huge impact on the characters personalities. I'll keep my fingers crossed in hopes of continuing to produce good chapters!****

Mercurial1

– Hmm. What is going to happen next? Can't say, but I'm pretty sure that you'll find it quite interesting.****

Michelle

– Thanks! Hope the essay worked out.****

Panther Nesmith

– Trust me. Problems still loom on the horizon because, for some bizarre reason, Remy just has a hard time with love. As for Belle, yup, her winning personality will be hard pressed to contain, as was evident in Chapter 7. I have no doubt that there will be things that Remy won't like, but will it be enough for him to kill his affection for her? Guess we'll just have to wait and see . . .****

Ishandahalf

– Woohoo! Gold star for me! Yeah, Remy does seem to have the blinders on when it comes to Rogue, but Rogue is in the same boat, don't you think? It doesn't seem like she's throwing out any 'let's be more than friends' vibe out to anyone. However, she and Scott did seem to have fun hanging out together. I wonder if it was as much fun as it is hanging out with Remy . . .****

Rogue77

– Yes, those flowers are pretty but I must apologize for mixing up my description. They are typically white with red tips. Silly me. Anyhow, it shouldn't be hard to find a picture of them on the Internet. Most of everyone seem to be getting the impression that there will be a huge blowout when the cat's out of the bag. I can't say whether it will be or not but it sure as hell with be quite interesting. As for Scott, Belle really isn't the girl I have in mind for him . . .****

Katrina5

– Rogue really is a great girl, isn't she? Everyone likes her. I was pretty sure that she would have fun with whomever she was with. Guess we really will have to wait and see if any of the friendships she has and/or will have will develop into something more.****

Caliente

– Yes, too bad about that date. It does seem like he's still interested, though. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how things turn out) it doesn't look like Remy will be finding out the truth before they all head back to New York.****

Lid'l Rogue

– That does mean a lot, being able to sway your opinion like that. I'm really glad that you are enjoying the story.****

Blink182dbzluver

– I'll try to keep the updates coming as fast as I can. I'm trying to avoid that 30+ days between updates period.****

Lightspeed Suzuka

– Belle is a good actress. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how long she's willing to stay in character.****

Aro

– Yea! You were my 100th review. Updates are such a treat, aren't they? Remy's date did end on a pretty bad note but there were some good points in there. I don't think he's ready to give up on Belle just yet.****

T.

– Really now, how can one pass up junk food with a movie? Nachos are a personal movie theater favorite. Belle and Remy have officially hit their first bump in the road.****

Nie Starwhistler

– Thanks!****

The Little Prophet

– I'm glad you like it. To see such a positive reaction makes writing the story so much more fun! 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Maybe we should jus' call dis off."

"Will ya stop bein' a baby about it? Ah don't understand what the big deal is."

"Well, dis isn' exactly how I envisioned dis evenin' t'go."

"What's wrong with this evening?"

"What's not wrong with this evenin'?"

Remy fixed Rogue with a pointed look at his last comment, but Rogue was unwilling to wither under his gaze. At this point she didn't know whether to strangle him or hug him. In her opinion, he was exaggerating about how well the evening had progressed so far.

They were finally on the second date they had discussed but she knew that Remy was an unwilling participant. He had been able to avoid the situation because of the conflict Belle's schedule, her schedule and their graduation had created, but with graduation out of the way and his parents not due back for another week, Rogue had found a time to make this date happen.

"Why are ya bein' so crabby?" She was starting to regret her effort.

"Because I can," he replied in all seriousness.

"Fine." She pulled out her cell phone and began dialing.

"What're y' doin'?"

She placed the phone to her ear. "Callin' Belle to let her know we're takin' off."

He grabbed the phone and ended the call. Rogue looked confused. "What did ya do that for? Ah thought ya wanted to call this off?"

"Momentary lapse in judgement." As much as he wasn't enjoying himself at the moment, he wasn't going to spoil Rogue's fun. She had made the effort to bring this together. It wasn't her fault things weren't working out. His eyes flickered for a moment. "Look, looks like he needs a dance partner."

She waved her hand to show her disregard. "No he doesn't. Ah know that red head is stuck on him like a leech. Let him have his fun. Ah'm more concerned about what's eatin' ya."

Surprised, yet warmed by the thought of her putting him before Scott, especially since they were supposed to be on a 'date', he raked his hand through his hair, searching for words to explain exactly how he felt. "Dis just isn' exactly what I had in mind, y'know?"

He was right. Things hadn't exactly worked out just yet. When Rogue had initially set up the date, everything appeared to be able to work out just fine. After coordinating with the other three, she had determined that the evening would consist of a movie, a short dinner and then dancing. Everything had been scheduled on Saturday, a day both Rogue and Belle had off from work and acting.

The trouble had started on Friday night. Rogue called to let him know that she had been called in to work on Saturday because the manager would be out of town on a family emergency. She assured everyone that she would be off by six and they could still proceed with their plans.

Then, on Saturday morning, Belle called. Her troupe had called her to come in. Apparently, a small group of people from her troupe had entered into some sort of acting competition and one of the actresses had come down with food poisoning the night before. They needed someone to fill in and Belle just happened to be the only other person who had played the part before and still knew all the lines. The competition started at five. Belle swore she would be back in time and would meet them at the theater by six thirty.

At six, Rogue called. The till was short four hundred dollars so she had to try and track it down. If she couldn't find it by the time the movie started, she would just worry about it tomorrow and meet them at the theater.

At six fifteen, Remy and Scott headed down to the theater to get the tickets ahead of time and find some seats. They were watching a movie that had just opened so they wanted to be sure they wouldn't get caught up in the crowd. On the way to the theater, Remy noticed the car was driving funny. Scott looked in his passenger mirror to see air literally blowing out of the rear tire. They got out and worked on putting on the spare. Fifteen minutes later the spare was on, but both men were a mess. A now aggravated Remy called Rogue to let her know what had happened. She told them to head home and change and she would meet them at the movies. She had found the error in the cash register and was now changing her clothes. She would make it to the theater within the next ten minutes, pick up her ticket and head in to save four seats. After the movie they would drop Remy's car back at home and head out to dinner.

At six fifty, Scott and Remy entered the theater room their movie was showing in. They spotted Rogue amongst the sea of people, but she was by herself and had only saved two other seats. It turns out Belle had called. There were some technical difficulties at the competition, pushing the start time back to six. She would most likely miss the movie and instead meet them at the restaurant for dinner.

As soon as they entered the restaurant after the movie, Belle called again. Her team still had not gone, but they were after the group that was next. She would meet them at the dance club instead. Dinner had gone okay, but would have been a whole lot better if either Belle had been there or Scott had not, in Remy's opinion. In his eyes, Scott was blatantly flirting with Rogue and it was getting on his nerves, most likely because Belle wasn't there. The casual drape of his arm over the back of her chair, the seemingly unconscious play with her hair, the offer to taste his food, the friendly touches, the compliments, the smiles, everything he did just added more kindle to fuel his irritation. And with the seconds ticking away and no sign of Belle, he was beginning to feel like the proverbial third wheel. To her credit, Rogue noted the awkwardness of the situation and was not responding to his flirtations. Instead she tried to keep Remy engaged in conversation.

By the time they made it into the dance club, Remy had become uncharacteristically quiet and headed straight for a cocktail table instead of straight to the dance floor. The club was in full swing. Rogue gave Scott the okay to go out and dance while she grabbed some drinks and tried to cheer up Remy. Keeping her eye on the table, she noticed that many of the bolder girls had already approached Remy, all of whom he had politely turned away. For some reason, she felt better knowing that he wasn't finding those other girls attractive enough to dance with, especially when she could admit that a few of them looked quite fetching. At the same time, she was fending off her share of admirers and was grateful when she was able to head back to their table.

Remy had been keeping track of Rogue out of the corner of his eye, making sure she was okay. He noticed quite a few men approach her during her five minutes at the bar, which was no surprise because she was easily the most beautiful girl at the club at the moment, despite her modest lavender halter top and black slacks. He was tempted to come to her aid when the last gentleman seemed to not be taking the hint to back off. Finally, she turned and was on her way back when a rather persistent blonde decided to invite her self to sit down across from him, obviously not wanting to accept her rejection. As Rogue drew closer her exchanged several looks with her, trying to convey the silent request for help. Thankfully, she got his message and, after setting down the drinks, she sat down in his lap, placed her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek, topping off the display with a sultry 'miss me, sugah?' She turned to smile sweetly at the blonde and was amused to see her stand up and walk off. Getting up and occupying the now vacated seat, she had asked Remy what was wrong and that's when he told her of his thoughts to call everything off.

She looked at him with genuine understanding. "Ah'm sorry things aren't workin' out tonight. Just seems like it's one thing after another. Ah feel terrible since this was all kinda my idea."

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Don' be sorry, _chére_. Ain' y'r fault. I should be sorry for bein' such a poor sport 'bout it."

She smiled and pulled her hand away to grab her drink. "Well, Ah still feel bad." She took a sip and let her eyes wander over the dance floor.

He followed her lead and looked out at the other dancers. His gaze fell upon Scott who was still grinding away with the red head. Always a sucker for pretty red heads. He listened as the pulsating music smoothly transitioned into a song he liked and he suddenly knew how to make himself feel better for Scott's earlier actions. He got up and held out a hand to her. "Dance wit' me."

She looked at him, caught off guard. "Excuse me?"

"Dance wit' me," he repeated, grabbing her hand off the table and pulling her to her feet. They walked to the center of the dance floor and then let the music take control. Both held an affinity for dancing so it wasn't hard. She danced in front of him, her back to his chest. The image of a stranger dancing with her flittered in the back of his mind. In response, he came in close behind her, and placed a hand to her hip, his signal that cutting in was not an option. They kept up with each other's movements fluidly so that between the dancing and the catchy music, Remy soon found himself having fun.

A few songs later, Rogue stopped moving. He looked down to see her pull her phone out of her pocket and check her text message. She looked over near the entrance where Belle was coming through. He felt her grab his hand and weave them through the crowd, picking up Scott on the way. Walking back towards the tables, Remy was finally reunited with his very late date.

"Ya made it!" Rogue exclaimed.

"Yeah. I'm so sorry 'bout all dat. I didn' know it would turn out like dat," Belle apologized.

"All that matters is you're here now." She pushed Remy towards Belle. "Here. Remy's been sour all evenin'. Maybe ya can sweeten him up." Rogue winked and pulled Scott back to the dance floor.

They stood for a moment. This was the first time since their last date that they had really been alone together. Remy had tried to talk to her during the graduation party but too many people surrounded her. He smiled at her and then placed an arm around her shoulder. "Come on. I'll buy y' a drink." They walked over to the bar. "What can I get y'?"

"Just a water."

"Two waters," he told the bartender as he leaned against the counter. "Y' look great tonight," he said, openly admiring the way her white one-shoulder top and black miniskirt complimented her figure.

"T'ank y'. Y' don' look so bad y'self."

He grabbed the drinks and maneuvered them to a free table. Once seated, Belle immediately began speaking.

"Remy, I'm so sorry about what happened before. I was bein' a horrible date."

"Don' worry 'bout it, Belle. It was a just a bad night. It wasn' exactly polite of me t' fall asleep."

"Yeah, but at least y' made de effort t'go. Rogue told me y' weren' really in t' dose movies."

He felt a little hurt at her words. He would have at least thought she would have figured that out by now through the letters. Shrugging off that thought, he put on his most charming smile. He was determined to have a good time. "Come on, Belle," he said, getting up. "Let's forget all dat and have a good time." She also stood and let herself be led out onto the dance floor.

* * *

"Ugh, my feet are killin' me."

"Well, could be worse."

They both looked over to see Rogue hobbling her way up the porch, shoes dangling from one hand.

"At least y' don' got a blister de size of a golf ball," Belle smirked.

"Not a golf ball, but at least a marble." He winced as he felt it rub against his shoe once more. He didn't feel too bad about it. The pain was well worth the evening. The four of them had a blast. They danced together well into the night, switching partners every so often. Belle was quite tired with the combined performance and dancing and Scott was simply danced out so both had bowed out well before Remy and Rogue were ready to go home. But the latter had only stayed out ten minutes more before calling it quits.

Belle leaned against her front door in what she knew was a seductive pose. "I had a great time tonight."

"Me too," Remy replied, favoring her with a genuine smile. He took a step forward and, with a grandiose bow, he scooped up her hand and planted a lingering kiss on her knuckles. "Sweet dreams, Belle," he murmured as he let go and took a step back.

Disappointment flashed through her but she hid it well. "T'ank y', Remy. Y', too." Hugging herself she turned and entered the house, shutting the door quietly behind her. She frowned as she trudged up the stairs to her room. She loved Remy as a friend but she could feel her attraction to him waning. If things didn't turn around soon she might just have to disappoint Rogue and break Remy's heart.

* * *

A.N.:

Ew. That was kind of ugly, don't you think? Apologies for the briefness but sometimes things just turn out that way.

A huge thank you all for kind words and reviews!

****

gothic- rogue lebue

– Yes, when will they realize they like each other? Hard to say now. Looks like the evening went well for Belle and Remy. (Though they really didn't talk to each other . . .)****

TigerStorm

– Mind games can be fun! So how was that date? Maybe Rogue's master plan could work out after all.****

Aro

– Thank you for the positive response. I was worried that particular chapter would seem out of place but I felt it was necessary.****

Mercurial1

– Poor Remy keeps getting picked on. I'm sure all that suffering will be quite worth it in the end, though.****

Rogue77

– I think Scott will be sufficiently taken care of in the end. The Rogue/Remy bonding was cute. I thought it was good to continue to emphasize the friendship they have, which makes them pretty blind to any other feelings they may have for each other outside of friendship. Yes, Remy did find a clue, but how suspicious does he really find it?****

The Little Prophet

– Another satisfied reader. That always brightens my day. I just hope that each chapter I churn out continues to be just as well received. Thanks!****

Blink185dbzluve

r – Yeah, she tricked Remy. I'm starting to feel kinda bad for they guy. He's getting totally duped. I guess he's going to have to end up really happy in the end after all the stuff he's gone through.****

Nie Starwhistler

– Thanks for the continued encouragement!****

Ishandahalf

– That 'just friends' category can be pretty frustrating, especially for those who want to see Rogue and Remy together. But for them being just friends is so warm and cozy. They did get some good moments in together, though, and there will definitely be more in the future. Keep your fingers crossed, maybe that might be enough to nudge them out of the 'just friends' category. Although, we can't forget about Scott and Belle . . .****

Lightspeed Suzuka

– True love can't be stopped but it can be delayed for a really long time. I guess that would be really mean if that were the case here, huh? :)****

Panther Nesmith

– Thanks for the review. Hope I didn't make you late for choir!****

Lid'l Rogue

– Aw!! Thanks for making this story one of your faves. I'm trying to update faster but I totally slacked with this chapter. I'm just as excited as you are to see the finished product.****

Rogue Warrior Spirit

– No worries. That harassment was welcomed. Gotta know what'll please the readers, right? I'm glad you liked the chapter and hopefully you liked the way this turned out as well.****

T.

– So that was date number two. Seems to have gone better than the first but is that a good or bad thing? ;)****

Katrina5

– Rogue's a pretty damn lucky girl to have such great guys in her life. I guess the real question is who will be the lucky guy to end up with her?****

Roguechere

– This is one of your favorites, too? That's so great! I can't help but smile at that. Thanks!****

Bad-girl4

– You've just asked one of the many million dollar questions this story seems to have produced. The truth will come out at some point, but probably not for a while. Lying does get easier with practice.****

Coldqueen

– I do like evo Warren better than comic Warren. Wish I could give you a more definitive answer about his extent of his cameo. It just depends on how things pan out.****

RaysofSunshine

– I agree, Belle really isn't that exciting. It's really hard to write a character you're not particularly fond of.****

Comicfn

– Man, if Belle just likes Remy for his looks, she sure doesn't know what she's missing. Don't worry though, Remy will end up with someone who appreciates all of him. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Stop usin' your tongue. Try your teeth."

His face contorted with the extra effort.

"Come on! It ain't that hard!"

He started to turn red, but he wasn't sure if it was from the statement or the exertion. A hand shot out, eliciting a small yelp.

"Hey! It ain't my fault ya can't do it right."

Scott tried to practice ignorance but a distinctly feminine squeal wouldn't let him.

Forgetting his newspaper, Scott studied his two friends. Rogue's laughter had dropped a few decibels, but even he could understand what was so funny.

"Man, what's wrong with you?"

"Quiet! I'm concentratin'."

They were sitting at one of the food courts in the international section of the New Orleans airport. Rogue and Remy were sitting across from him, sharing a package of sour Starbursts when Rogue got the bright idea of seeing who could unwrap the tart candy in their mouth, like they did in the commercial. It had been quite comical to watch them struggle to beat each other, using any sort of distraction they could think of. However, despite all of the tickling, poking and kicking, Rogue had managed to win in about three minutes. Remy, on the other hand, looked like he was about to burst a vein. His face was all red and puckered up and tears were forming in the corners of his narrowed eyes.

Scott tried to contain his own mirth, but couldn't resist poking fun at his friend. "Face it, Remy. You lost. No need to cry about it."

"I ain' cryin'!" he protested.

Suddenly a bright flash went off, startling them both. Remy spit his candy into a waiting napkin and turned to his side.

"What did y' do dat for?!"

"Are ya kiddin' me?" Rogue said in between giggles. "The look on your face was priceless!" She wiped the corners of her own eyes. "Goodness. That was the funniest thing Ah've ever seen. My stomach hurts from laughing so much."

"I hope you get a cramp," he told her, snatching the digital camera from her grasp and looking at his picture. His face contorted in distaste. "I look like a dork."

Scott smirked. "Really? I thought you were going for dying, crying fish."

"I wasn' cryin', Scottie. I got one side open so all de flavor was leakin' out," he said in defense.

"Aw, sugah, ya don't have to be so sour about it," she joked.

"Ha ha. Funny, _chére_," he remarked, handing her back the camera. He looked at his watch. "T'ink dey're done yet?"

"Doubt it. It's only been half an hour."

They were picking up Remy's parents. Unfortunately, there was some sort of issue in customs that was holding up the rest of the incoming passengers. According to the flight desk, it would probably take about an hour to get people through.

"Anybody up for a walk?" Rogue asked, getting up. "Ah gotta go to the ladies' room."

Remy stood, stretching his arms over his head. "I'll go wit' y'. I hate waitin'. Scott?"

Scott shook his head. "I'm fine. I'll stay here in case they come out early." From their table, there was a fairly good view of the customs exit.

"T'anks. We'll be back in a bit."

Scott watched as they walked off. Remy had hooked his arm across Rogue's shoulders. He saw Rogue crane her neck, trying to hear what Remy was telling her. After a few moments he could hear their laughter floating through the terminal.

He was convinced; Remy was totally and completely in denial.

Even though he denied it, Scott could see that Remy had some sort of feelings for Rogue beyond friendship. He had seen it in his face the night Rogue had her nightmare. At that point he decided that Rogue was pretty much off limits, no matter how many times Remy told him it was okay. Sure, he still flirted with her. He still liked her. But he also knew that nothing would come of it, and that wasn't entirely because of him.

Even though she never said it, he could tell that Rogue didn't like him in that way. He would never be more than a friend. He knew that she also had feelings for the handsome Cajun but she was even more oblivious than Remy was. Despite only knowing her for little over a month, he could tell that she was good for him. She possessed all of the qualities that Remy looked for in a woman. It wasn't difficult to see how they lit up in each other's presence. Something between the two of them just clicks.

The only problem those two had was Belle. Scott frowned at the thought of her. She was a nice girl but something about her just rubbed him the wrong way. In his opinion, she was this huge obstacle that no one knew how to overcome. She had this uncanny ability to get everyone wrapped around her finger, including Remy and Rogue, which he hated to admit. Granted, he could count the number of times he'd been around her on one hand, but he prided himself on being a pretty good judge of character. That is, when the person in question had no connection to his own personal life. However, it was obvious that she was the rich, spoiled, daddy's girl princess that they tried to so hard to avoid. She made no effort to go out of her way to see Remy. At the graduation party held in her and Rogue's honor, she totally ignored him and instead spent her time with her wide variety of male admirers. She was designer everything and unappreciative of anything but. He wasn't sure if anyone else knew, but the lion that Remy had given to her was still stuffed under the front seat of Rogue's car.

It was a shame that Belle had written him over the years. It made Remy completely ignorant to her true personality. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why Rogue tried so hard to make things work between them. He supposed that a person's true personality couldn't be seen through letters, contrary to what Remy said. Otherwise, Remy might not be so stuck on the girl. If only . . .

"Scott?"

He blinked and looked up. Remy and Rogue were looking at him with concern. "Are ya okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"We've been trying to get your attention but ya were all spaced out. Somethin' on your mind?"

He shook his head. "No. Just got lost in thought I guess."

"So it is true!" Remy stated in disbelief. "Y'r brain does freeze when y' t'ink too hard!"

Rogue elbowed him in the stomach. "Remy!"

"Ow!" he yelped, putting a hand to his sore. "What? Don' tell me y' weren' t'inkin' de same t'ing."

"Yeah, but Ah know better than to make fun of Scott to his face," she admonished. "Ya have to wait until after he walks away."

"You guys are a real riot," Scott remarked dryly.

* * *

"Remy!"

Mrs. Lebeau ran up to her son, enveloping him in a rib-crushing hug. He winced a little from the pressure but welcomed the embrace and brought his own arms around her. "Glad t'see y' made it safely."

He let go of his mother to hug his father. "Good t'see y', son! It's been too long!"

Rogue and Scott hung back, watching the small reunion and taking a few snapshots. It had been a long time since Rogue had set eyes on Remy's parents but it didn't seem like they had changed much. Both were a little older, with thin strips of gray running through Jean-Luc's dark hair.

"My goodness! Rogue? Is dat y'?"

Rogue soon found herself swept up in a bear hug of her own.

"Let me look at y'! Mercy me! Y'r mother had greatly underestimated how beautiful y've become."

"Aw, she was just bein' modest, Mrs. Lebeau."

"Forget modesty! Remy was right. Y' could be one o' dose Victoria's Secret models," she said, once again hugging a rapidly reddening Rogue.

"And she works at a lingerie shop, too," Scott added, coming up to extend his greetings.

"Scott! Aren' y' as handsome as ever! Come here and give me a hug!" She latched onto him with the same vigor she displayed with Remy and Rogue and held on until Scott felt like his rib was poking his lung.

The five of them chatted excitedly as they made their way out of the airport and to Remy's car. The ride home was equally animated, as Remy's parents wanted to hear all about their summer and what they have been up to so far. They had been especially interested in Rogue, since the little girl they remembered had blossomed into a very becoming young lady. As soon as Remy pulled up to his house, Irene was seen scurrying out her front door, anxious to see the friend she had missed for so long.

"Oh, Mary! It's so good to see you! You look wonderful!" Irene exclaimed, hugging the other woman briefly.

"So do you! You haven't changed a bit!" she replied.

"Forget your bags for right now. Come over. I have lunch all ready."

"Can' say no t' dat. Y'r cookin' is definitely somethin' I missed bein' away," Jean-Luc said, making his way over and greeting Irene with a brotherly embrace.

"You both a definitely a sight for sore eyes," Irene said, eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Come! We have a lot of catching up to do!"

After their meal, Irene and Marianne sat on the porch, sipping afternoon tea. The others were all across the street, unloading the car and helping Jean-Luc reacquaint himself with his New Orleans abode.

Marianne stifled another yawn.

"You must be tired after such a flight," Irene observed.

"Dat I am, but I'm too excited t'be home right now. Everyt'ing looks almost exactly de same as we left it." She was cut off momentarily by the gentle sound of Rogue's laughter wafting out of the upstairs window. A small smile graced her features. "Except for dat daughter o' yours. She's an angel, Irene. Y' didn' tell me how beautiful she turned out."

"In more ways than one," Irene said, sipping her tea. "Everyday I cannot help but look at her and feel proud."

"An' y' should! Look at her. She's got a good head on her shoulders. She got into a good school, makes her own money," she listed, the pride evident in her own voice. "She got a boyfriend?"

Irene shook her head. "No one serious since Bobby. She dated Warren Worthington for a while but nothing came of it."

Marianne took a sip of her own cup. "Good for her. I've heard of that Warren fellow. Nice young man but not the one for Rogue. Too much high society in him."

"Very true. I think that is the thing Rogue did not like about him. She is just not into that."

The other woman nodded in agreement. "Neither is Remy. He makes a good show of it, but he prefers his own style of partyin'. Not'ing formal." She took another sip. "He speaks very highly of Rogue, by de way."

"I have no doubt," Irene told her. "The two of them have been nearly inseparable since Remy's arrival."

"Really now?" Marianne asked with a raised brow.

Irene nodded again. "It's as if the last ten years has not affected their friendship at all. It warms my heart to see the two of them together again. Rogue seems so much happier now."

"Remy seems t'be, too. Can go a whole conversation wit'out mentionin' her. Just like old times. I always knew she was good for my Remy."

Irene's ears perked up at the last comment and she immediately knew where the conversation was heading. "Marianne," she started, "I know what you are thinking. Do not go and try and play Cupid. Remy already has his sights set on Belle and Rogue fully supports their relationship. She has been determined to get them together since they were children."

"Rubbish," the New Orleans native scoffed. "We bot' know dat Belle is too much princess for Remy. An' she got some nerve leadin' Remy on, writin' him all dose years and den not spendin' any time wit' him when he comes back."

"Belle is a busy girl, much like her father. It is not like she is spending time away on purpose. She made those obligations before she knew Remy was coming home," Irene said in Belle's defense.

"I know my boy, Irene, an' I know dat Belle isn' de one for him. He don' talk about her de way he talks about Rogue."

"The friendship shared between Rogue and Remy mirrors our own. They have a good bond together," Irene reasoned.

Marianne shook her head stubbornly. "Dey only see it as friendship 'cause Remy's too wrapped up in Belle."

Irene sighed. She did have a point. "I know that you love Rogue as a daughter, as much as I love Remy as a son. I know we've entertained dreams of them being together since they first met and you know I would love to see that as much as you do. However, it is not our place to try and force it upon them. They are old enough to figure out what they want on their own. And you promised not to meddle when they got older," she reminded.

This earned a laugh from Marianne. "Your still goin' to hold me to dat?"

"Absolutely."

Mrs. Lebeau let out a long, gusty sigh. "I know your right, Irene, but I just want to see dem happy, y'know? Remy dated a lot of girls dat reminded me of Belle and dey all broke his heart in de end. She isn' de one for him. A mother knows dese t'ings."

Irene patted her friend's knee. "Then have faith in him. He'll make the right decision."

"Remy Lebeau! Put me down!"

They looked up at the sound of Rogue's voice. Across the street they watched as a wet Remy carried a struggling Rogue, fireman style, out the front door and unceremoniously dumped her on the front lawn. Rogue was up in an instant and promptly tackled a retreating Remy to the ground. After several moments of grappling, Remy finally used his size and strength to his advantage, pinning Rogue face down, one arm twisted behind her and his knee firmly planted in the small of her back.

Marianne raised her cup as if toasting. "Yup, dat's my son. Effectively wooing his way into Rogue's heart by tossing her on de grass and pinnin' her to the ground," she deadpanned.

* * *

Remy studied the board with deep concentration. He and his father were engaged in a friendly game of chess, an after dinner ritual they had frequently participated in when Remy still lived at home. It was nearing one in the morning and both Scott and Marianne had retired to bed. Remy and his father had been too caught up in the excitement of the day and sleep still eluded them, hence the chess game. At this point, it was quite obvious to Jean-Luc that his son had not been keeping up on his playing skills. If Remy did not figure out his strategy and stage a counterattack, he would be two moves away from checkmate.

"Been a while, _non_?" he asked him.

"Dat it has. Don' play much in New York."

"It shows."

"I'm a busy man, _Poppa_. Y'know me, t'ings to do, parties t'attend, girls t'date," he said with a grin.

Jean-Luc couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Find anyone y' like?"

Remy shook his head. "Lots of Gingers, no Mary-Ann."

The elder Lebeau leaned back in his chair. "Ah, but dat's de price y' pay f'r being dashingly handsome like y'r father, _non_?" he said, fingering his graying goatee.

Remy nodded absently. Narrowing his eyes, he moved his bishop. "Check."

Jean-Luc frowned and leaned forward. He hadn't been expected that move or the lack of answer. Now it was his turn to study the board and perhaps pry a better response from his son. "What 'bout Belle?"

"What 'bout her?"

"Y'r _maman_ told me dat y' reconnected wit' each ot'er."

"We went on a couple o' dates."

Jean-Luc looked up, surprised. "Dat's it?"

"She's busy. I didn' tell her dat I was comin' for de summer so she had it all booked up," Remy said in defense.

"Oh." His eyes darted across the board. "I always liked her. T'ought o' her like a daughter."

"Belle's a special girl." Remy sat back in his own chair. "Can I ask y' somet'ing?"

"Y'r tone of voice worries me, son," he said, a small grin on his face. "I hope dis is a serious question. De last time y' asked me dat y' were wonderin' if I would be mad to learn I would be a grandfather in nine months."

Remy couldn't help but smile fondly at the memory. "De look on y'r face was priceless."

"Glad y' saw de humor in seein' me go into cardiac arrest for two minutes. Wanted t' strangle y' for pullin' my leg like dat."

"Don' worry. Dis is serious. Jus' wanted to know how y' knew Mom was de one f'r y'."

That was a serious question. "I didn' f'r a long time," He answered honestly. "She didn' seem like de type o' girl I saw myself wit' forty years in de future. Always saw her as Pierre's little sister. Den, one day, I jus' saw her, really saw her for who she was. We were at dat picnic celebratin' Pierre's engagement. Ever since dat day I knew dat she was de one."

"Hm." Remy hunched forward, mulling over what his father had said.

"Somet'ing on y'r mind?" Jean-Luc inquired, abandoning the game completely. It wasn't everyday that his son talked about commitments.

"Not really. Jus' ponderin' my personal life." Or lack of, he added mentally.

"I t'ought t'ings were goin' good with Belle?"

"Dey are. I guess t'ings just aren't goin' like I imagined it. I t'ought dat since she spent so much time writin' t'me she'd want to go out more, but she's been so busy. Rogue's been tryin' her hardest t'make t'ings work for us, but I still feel like I don' see her enough. I knew she was de one I wanted to be with after all dese years o' keepin' in touch, but I wanted to take t'ings slow before doin' anyt'ing serious, like gettin' into a relationship. Now I feel like our relationship is movin' at a snail's pace. I've already been wit' so many women. I'm ready to find de one dat's just for me." Letting out a small sigh, Remy looked to his father for a response. Much to his dismay, he saw that he was trying very hard to keep the corners of his mouth from going up. "_Poppa_, I don' t'ink dis is a good time t'be smilin'," he said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"I'm not makin' fun o' y'. It's just dat, when y' left, y' were like a caged bird wantin' t'be free. Now it looks like y' lookin' f'r another cage."

"I never said dat I wanted t'be de eternal bachelor. Dat was Henri."

"Den maybe y' should do like Henri did and stop lookin' f'r somet'ing to happen. Let it come t' y', like it did to him and me. Y' an' Belle will be headin' up to New York soon. Wait it see what happens dere. Y' just might find what y'r lookin' for." He moved a one of his pieces across the board. "In de mean time, go have some fun. Y' got Rogue here again. Y' were always moanin' 'bout how much y' missed de fun y' two used t' have. Scott will be leavin' soon, so it'll be jus' de two of y', bein' loud an' obnoxious like y' used t'be."

"We are not loud an' obnoxious," Remy protested.

"Right," Jean-Luc responded in a voice laced with sarcasm. "So de two o' y' weren' makin' all dat ruckus today, chasin' each other 'round de house and wrestlin' on de lawn?"

"She's de one dat dumped de water on me!"

"Den maybe y'll learn dat it's not nice to pull back her bra strap and let it snap against her back."

"Yeah, yeah," Remy muttered standing up. "I'm goin' t'bed. T'anks f'r de talk."

"Anytime." Jean-Luc looked at the chessboard. "Y'r not gonna finish?"

Remy looked down at the board. "I guess I should." Seemingly without a thought, he moved his piece. "Checkmate. G'night, _Poppa,_" he called as he walked out the door, leaving a very bewildered Jean-Luc to figure just how he had lost.

* * *

A.N.:

I broke down.

Couldn't do it.

Just couldn't put Scott and Rogue together.

But hey! At least s_omeone_ finally figured something out!

Does anyone think I'm being unfair to Belle? Just curious.

Yeah, I know, this is way late. But at least I didn't make you wait a whole month!

As always, your reviews are appreciated to the fullest!

****

Charice

- Sometimes I feel that I'm being untrue to their characters but I think I have the ability to because they are not mutants in this story. I think that their mutations definitely have an impact on their (Rogue, Scott and Remy's) personalities because it had such a huge impact on their childhoods. So I'm just trying to write them the way I think they would be had they not had been so 'gifted,' hence, a less anal Scott, a more outgoing Rogue and less scoundrel-like Remy.****

Aro

– Belle seems to be changing her mind. Although, she's only been out with Remy twice, there's sufficient time for her to change her mind again. :(

The Little Prophet – Slowly but surely some folks are beginning to open their eyes. Too bad it's not the right folks, huh?

****

Katrina5

– Sadly, I don't think the red head will be making any further appearances. I just figured the girl had to be a red head if she was taking away all of Scott's attention from Rogue! I mean, really, didn't Remy state that she was the most beautiful girl at the club? It will be interesting to see how much Belle is willing to take. We'll just have to see how persuasive Rogue can be and how much Remy wants things to work out.****

Roguechere

– Thank you for the vote of confidence! I think that there will definitely be some more Scott/Rogue moments, but they may not be romantic ones, based off of what was revealed in this chapter. Although, it does work at making Remy jealous . . .****

Ishandahalf

– I definitely cheered, too, when I finished chapter 9. I was all, 'Finally! Some progress is being made!'. I'm glad that you don't mind the snail's pace with which things seem to be progressing. I really don't want to rush any relationships that may come out eventually. So far the outlook for Rogue and Remy getting together looks pretty good, based on Belle's and Scott's feelings at the moment. However, going away to college means new territory and more people to meet!****

Michelle

– Thank you for finding your way back. No worries about the missed review. As long as you were sufficiently entertained. It sounds like your pup has an affinity for homework. Doesn't it know that homework is bad?****

TigerStorm

– I thought this date was a lot more fun. I don't know if Belle is going to come out with the truth, but she definitely getting discouraged. Remy is trying to woo her with presents she doesn't like and hasn't put the moves on her yet. I wonder why that is . . .?****

T.

– Ah, poor Remy. Not at all pleased with Scott. The jealousy factor could definitely help get all the attention off of Belle, though. Maybe it's worth it, eh?

Rogue Warrior Spirit – I just can't resist Rogue and Remy bonding. I think it's cute, even if they are just friends.

****

The Rogue Witch

– Thank you for the very flattering compliments. I'm very glad you are enjoying my portrayal of Remy/Rogue interaction. I thought I might try my ha****

Nie Starwhistler

– Thank you again for sharing your kinds words!****

Blink182dbzluver

– Thank you!****

Panther Nesmith

– Belle did sound mean, didn't she? Oh, well. It's hard to not make her out that way since I really dislike her character in general. Glad you liked Rogue's rescue. I thought it was fun.****

Lightspeed Suzuka

– I love the way you review. It never ceases to bring a smile to my face. Glad you liked the chapter!****

Caliente

– I'm so happy this chapter went over well with Rogue/Remy fans. I do feel a tad bit bad about dancing around the whole 'will Rogue get together with Remy' question but I also feel it wouldn't be as fun to just spill the beans about what's going to happen. I just hope everyone likes the result!****

Coldqueen

– Yup. Good old Warren. :-)****

Jadedbeauty

– Hmm. I should take a listen to that song. Thanks for mentioning it. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!****

Charice

– Two responses for two chapters reviewed. I think you may be right. Perhaps a bit of my world has seeped into the characters. But I hope in doing so I'm not taking away from the core character molds. Sometimes it's a bit hard predicting how they would react in situations without the presence of mutant powers influencing them. Thank you for the Christmas well wish, by the way. Hope Santa got you what you wanted!****

Lid'l Rogue

– I can't stand Belle either. That's what makes her so hard to write!****

RaysofSunshine

– I think a lot of people are starting to realize how much of an idiot Remy is being. However, I gotta say that him and Rogue are in the same boat. Hopefully, Scott was able to redeem himself a bit in this chapter.****

Bunny angel

– Yup. The fun just doesn't stop.

Mercurial1 – I hope this chapter didn't burst your bubble about Scott and Belle. As far as New York, you'll just have to stay tuned!

****

Comicfn

– Remy is definitely jonesin' for his pen pal. Breaking himself out of that fantasy may take some work, especially since Rogue made herself look bad by not keeping in touch with her own letters.****

Gothic- Rogue LeBeau

– I did it! No more Scott and Rogue. I just couldn't do it.****

Pookie Sanchez

– Welcome back! Cliffhangers are nasty little things, aren't they? I'll try to keep mine to minimum.****

Roguelebeaux003

– Thank you for the compliment. I was worried that this story wouldn't work out right but so far it seems to be doing okay.****

Rogue4787

– Thank you! Yes, the beans will be spilled at some point. It really doesn't help that Rogue's mom isn't in on the master plan since both moms now have tidbits of info that could blow Rogue's cover story. Isn't it a funny thing that Rogue's mom is against playing Cupid and Rogue is doing that very thing? Hmm. Maybe her mom could've talked some sense into her! Scott has been pretty perceptive of things, hasn't he? Good for him! Now he's out of the way. As for the nightmares, they will probably come up again but they serve as a tie between Rogue and Remy and the reason why they will both be on the same dorm floor!****

Rogue77

– I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter and all the developments that seem to be taking place. Now, what do you think of this chapter?****

SassyGrl024

– Yea! Another fan! Glad you were able to find the story. I feel special that I'm one of your favorites, too! 


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Some say the sensation of doing something that has already been done before is somewhat exhilarating. The strange familiarity tickling at the back of the mind, raised hairs on the back of the neck, and goosebumps trailing across the arms all serve as some sort of recognition, perhaps a warning.

Perhaps it acts as a precursor to history repeating itself, an internal alarm system that warns of possible danger ahead and demands that the impending situation be handled with the utmost caution. After all, not all things in history turned out so great.

Of course, that is why history is taught. So the mistakes of the past may not be made in the future.

At least, one would hope.

For the life of him, Remy Lebeau could not understand why he was putting himself in one of those weird déjà vu-history-repeating-itself kind of situations.

He was a smart man who prided himself on having a healthy combination of book smarts and common sense.

At this moment, he wondered where both were when he made the decision to try a movie-dinner date with Belle again.

Once again, they were sitting in _Stormy's_, trying to make idle talk while they waited for their food to come out.

To his credit, he had learned enough to pick the movie himself and change it around so they saw the movie first and then went to eat. That way, they would have something to discuss at dinner. He had chosen to see _Pirates of the Caribbean_. Both Rogue and Scott had seen it when he was tied up with family stuff and had raved about how good it was. At first, he was a bit irked that they had gone to see it without him, but since Scott was leaving the next day and movies always came out later where they lived in France, he let it slide. Rogue had promised to see it again with him anyway.

He and Rogue would be leaving in a couple of weeks to head up to New York so Remy had figured that it would be nice to try to squeeze in one more date with Belle before he left. After all, it would be about two months before they could even see each other again. The results of their last get-together had turned out positive so he used that to fuel his confidence to go ahead with a more formal date.

So why were they having such a hard time keeping up a conversation?

'Dis is ridiculous. I'm actin' like I ain' never been on a date before. Y' got de charm, Lebeau. Use it. He cleared his throat and addressed his date. "Glad I was able t' see y' tonight. All dat actin' is keepin' y busy.'

Belle's wandering attention settled back onto Remy. "Yeah it is. I love it, though. All o' my work is only gonna help me when I go t' de Academy."

"Y' excited?"

"Definitely! Can' wait to work wit' people on such a high level. I love my troupe down here but some o' dem just aren' as good mentors, y'know?"

Remy nodded. "Yeah, I know. De Academy is one of de best. I wouldn' be surprised if y' became deir number one actress."

"I hope so. Dat would be so great," Belle agreed. "So, y' an' Rogue are leavin' soon, huh?"

"Yup. Two weeks from today. I'm gonna miss seein' y' when we leave," he told her with a wink.

"Well, o'course y' will! Who wouldn't miss seein' me?" she said with a smile to implicate that she was teasing.

"Only a fool," he answered with a tantalizing smile, hoping it would have some affect on her. He brought her hand up to his lips for a quick kiss.

Belle blushed slightly at the contact. "Can' agree wit' y' more." She returned his smile for a moment before her face donned a look of slight distaste. "Don' see how y' could drive all dat way, though. Dat's way too much time in de car f'r me."

"No way," Remy disagreed. "It's gonna be great. Dere's so much t'see on de way up dere. We get to go t'rough at least five states so dat's a lot of sight-seein'. Besides, it's only a twenty-hour drive. We could get dere in a day if we wanted."

"Ugh, no t'anks. I would rather fly."

"Dere's no culture in flyin," he protested.

"Dere may not be any culture but dey got first class an' a personal TV monitor. Why drive y'self when y' can sit comfortably wit' people caterin' to y'? And de only t'ing y' have to pay attention t' is de inflight movie."

Remy's returning retort was cut off when a new voice entered the conversation.

"Hey, Belle! How ya doing?"

Remy looked up at the intruder to see and man, about Belle's age. With his sandy blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and well-built physique, he looked somewhat like a Ken doll. Only his friendly, somewhat goofy, smile indicated that he was probably a fairly likeable person. Taking a quick glance at the visitor's attire, Remy concluded that the man seemed a bit underdressed in his blue jeans and white polo.

"Hello, Robert. Fancy meetin' y' here." Belle's tone of voice contained a hint of irritation.

"What? No hug for everyone's favorite Bobster?"

"Mebbe another time," she replied, her eyes darting to Remy across the table.

Bobby noticed this and realized that Belle had a dining companion not familiar to him. "Oh, man! I'm sorry. I totally thought that you were someone else! How rude of me. My name is Robert Drake, but my friends call me Bobby," he said, extending his hand for a shake.

Remy received the handshake, his mind noting the name of person in front of him. "Remy Lebeau. Pleasure to meet y'."

"Yeah, right back at ya. Sorry to disturb you guys. I'll let you go. Nice meeting you again, Remy. Belle, great seeing you, as always. Say hi to the lovely Miss Rogue for me will ya?" The words tumbled out of Bobby's mouth as he walked away from their table.

"Will do, Robert," Belle replied before turning her attention back to her date. "I'm sorry 'bout dat. His maturity level leaves a lot t'be desired."

"Don' be sorry. It's nice t'meet y'r friends."

"We're not friends," Belle corrected him.

Her comment confused him. He could have sworn this was the guy that she had dated at the beginning of high school but had decided that they were better off as friends. "I t'ought dat y' guys were friends after y' broke up?"

Belle looked him like he had just grown a second head. "Excuse me?"

"Dat was Bobby Drake right?" Belle nodded, still not following.

"Y' told me dat y' dated at the beginning of high school but he was too goofy for y' so y' decided t' just be friends."

Belle was about to tell him that he was mistaken and was talking about Rogue when she remembered the whole letter thing. "Oh, um, yeah, we did. Dat was ages ago, dough. We lost touch since den. He's more friends wit' Rogue. Dey got along real well."

Something about they way she said that put Remy on edge. "Y' say dat like dey're more den friends."

"De boy's been in love wit' Rogue since de day dey met. I swear, he only dated me so dat he could get t'Rogue." She tried to sound mildly hurt.

Remy plastered a smile onto his face. "He's crazy, Belle. Any guy would have t'be t' not notice how precious y' are."

"Remy, y' are too much!" Belle teased, but was inwardly pleased with the compliments.

"I aim t' please," he told her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. For some reason, the thought of Bobby and Rogue together unnerved him to no end.

* * *

"Ya know, Ah think Ah've been to this airport more times in the past few months than Ah have in the past few years," Rogue thought aloud as they drove to the airport.

"Now, _chére_, don' say dat. Y' gon' make Scott t'ink dat y' don' want t'see him off," Remy chided.

"How 'bout we do a 'tuck and roll, Grandma'?" she asked excitedly.

"A what?"

"It's when ya just slow down real slow in front of their drop off point and then throw them outta the car. Ya don't even have to stop."

"Y' should have tol' me dat earlier so dat we could have made him sit shotgun," Remy said, feigning exasperation.

"You know, I'm really not going to miss this when I'm gone."

Rogue turned around in her seat to look at her friend. "We love ya, Scott," she told him in a honeyed voice while batting her eyelashes.

"Like a rash," Remy added.

"The feeling's mutual." For reason's beyond Scott's comprehension, he had somehow become a favored target for the pair's playful banter over the past few weeks and he somewhat dreaded what it was going to be like when they all returned to New York. Overall, he didn't really mind, though. At least it was one step closer to getting Remy and Rogue together. 'Look at me. I'm playing Cupid for a guy that can get any girl he wants.'

Unfortunately, Belle was still in the picture. From what he had gathered, their last date had ended quite well. Although, Scott was quite surprised that Remy had called it a good date. The extent of his physical relationship with Belle was limited to kisses on the hand and forehead, from what he had seen. When he had blatantly asked if they had made out yet the morning after their last date, Remy had said no. The Remy he knew would have reached first base thirty minutes into the first date. Not that it was a bad thing that he hadn't touched Belle. The whole concept sounded incredibly nauseating.

"Will ya quit pettin' me!"

"I can' help it. It's soft."

"Then get your own!"

Scott was shaken from his train of thought by the incredibly odd dialogue. "What's going on?"

"Have y' seen her pants? Dey're really nice. Touch it."

Rogue pulled her body towards her door. "Hell no. No one is rubbing up an' down my leg anymore. Get your own velour pants."

"Fine. Be selfish."

"Please! How would you like it if Ah was pettin' ya like a dog?"

"I think he'd enjoy it," Scott said with a smile.

"Hey!" Remy protested.

"What? Like a guy wouldn't enjoy being touched by a beautiful girl like Rogue. I bet some guys would pay money for it. You think her pants are soft? Touch her hands."

Touch her hands? Remy's eyes narrowed as his grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly. "How y' know dat?"

Oh. Someone's getting 'protective,' Scott thought as watched Remy's jaw clench. He hadn't meant to do pick that particular bone with Remy but decided to run with it. Maybe he'd spill the beans about his true feelings. "A gentleman never tells."

"Like y'r a gentleman."

"Miss Rogue seems to think so. Isn't that right?"

Rogue smiled, playing along. "Absolutely. He just complimented my skin and my looks. Girls like that kind of stuff, ya know."

Remy vaguely heard what Rogue said. When Scott had called Rogue, 'Miss Rogue,' the term had spurned thoughts of another man, which only served to fuel his irritation with Scott, and spark his anger just a bit.

"Dat's exactly why guys say dat stuff, 'cause girls fall for it."

Rogue couldn't help but take slight offense. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, dat a guy will tell y' what y' want t' hear so he can have his way wit' y'."

"Not all guys are like that Remy," Scott objected.

"I know a few," Remy replied, blatantly looking at Scott through the rearview mirror.

Scott noticed this. "Are you trying to imply something?"

"If de shoe fits, _mon ami_ . . ."

"That's enough!" Rogue interjected. The tension in the car had skyrocketed in the blink of an eye. They pulled up in front of Scott's airline terminal and Rogue was glad for the perfect timing. "Scott, go check in. We'll meet ya inside." Her tone left no room for protest.

Without a word, Scott grabbed his bags and exited the car. Remy pulled away from the curb and Rogue did not say anything until the car was parked.

"What's wrong with ya? Why are ya so mad?" her own irritation evident.

"It was nothin'," he mumbled, more to the steering wheel than to her.

She turned in her chair to look at him fully. "That was not 'nothing.' The vein in your neck is ready to explode."

"He jus' got on my nerves."

"Ah don't believe that. We were just jokin' around when ya got all riled up for no reason and insulted Scott and offended me!"

Remy finally turned towards her. "I didn' like de way he was talkin' 'bout y' okay!"

Rogue was slightly taken aback by the outburst but didn't let it stop her. "We were jokin' around! IF Ah had been offended, Ah would have said something. Ya know that. Ah'm not some helpless, easy little girl, like you implied earlier!"

"I didn' mean it like dat. I jus' don' like guys disrespectin' y'."

"No, ya just don' want guys talking to me, period. An' ya shouldn't even worry about that. It's not like Ah have a pack of guys trailing me or something."

"What about Bobby?"

Rogue's eyes widened slightly. "What about him?"

"Belle told me de truth 'bout him."

Her insides froze. "What did she say?"

"Dat he only dated her to get to you and dat he's been in love wit' y' forever."

Relief washed over her. "So what does that have to do with anything?"

"He wants y'!"

"So what? Ya want Belle. What does this have to do with Scott?"

They stared at each other for a solid ten seconds before Remy visibly deflated.

"Nothin'. It has nothin' t'do wit' Scott. I know he was jus' messin' wit' me but for some reason it jus' bugged me."

"Is it because it was about me? Do ya have a problem with me being friends with Scott?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Is this going to be a problem when we go to school? Are ya going to act like this every time some guy tries to talk to me or talks about me?"

"Probably! I can' help it."

"Well, sugah, your gonna have to try. Ya may be my best friend but ya ain't my boyfriend so you're not allowed to be possessive."

The truth of her words rang in his ears. "Y'r right, _chére_. I'm not your boyfriend." He combed a hand through his hair with slight frustration. "Look, I'm sorry 'bout bein' protective an' all. I can' help it but I'll try harder. No promises, though. You're important to me. Anyt'ing dat happens to y' may make me act stupid. I didn' mean to hurt y'r feelin's an' I didn' mean to insult Scott. Forgive me?"

Rogue reached over and gave him a tight hug. "Of course Ah do. Just don't let me cause problems for ya, okay? Ah'm a big girl. There are some things Ah'm allowed to do now."

Remy squeezed her back before she let go. "I know, I know. Y're all grown up and working in a lingerie shop," he said, causing Rogue to smile. "Come on. I gotta apologize to Scotty before takeoff."

Both got out of the vehicle and Rogue linked her arm through Remy's. As they walked to meet Scott, Remy tried to shake the unexplained feelings of hurt that flared at Rogue's boyfriend comment.

* * *

A.N.:

I'm still here! I swear! My work just kinda swallowed me whole for a while. However, I thank all of you for the constant prodding for a new chapter. I feel that this particular chapter may be kind of a let down after all that waiting but, I swear, the real fun is about to begin!

Reviews are the best! Thanks to all of you wonderful people!

****

Chatice

- The natural everyday romance scenarios are nice, aren't they? I definitely think that the characters are more fun to write when there aren't super powers to deal with.****

SassyGrl024

- Yup, signs are everywhere and they aren't going to stop until the right people get the hint! Scott seems to be on the right track but everyone else is still out of the loop.****

T.

- Keep on the lookout for that little tidbit of information. Things like that always seem to pop up in the future. I think it goes along with the whole difficulty of keeping up such a big lie and not informing all involved parties who know the truth.****

Rogue Warrior Spirit

- You seem to be on the same track as my thought process. I like to think that's why Rogue doesn't see her attraction to Remy. He's in the 'friend' category because she views him as being taken, and, therefore, off limits per the girlfriend code.****

Aro

- Yeah, I don't think killing off Belle would be the best thing. Wouldn't want Rogue to not date Remy as not to break the whole respecting your dead friend's territory. Her and Remy seem to honorable to just start dating after Belle's death, like her presence would always be hanging over them. Don't worry, though. I think you'll like how things turn out in the end.****

Caliente

- Thanks! I hope this chapter was just as satisfying.****

Lightspeed Suzuka

- Thanks! Plushies are the best! I felt bad having to ignore their pleadings of a new chapter while I let my work consume me.****

Rogue4787

- People are definitely starting to choose sides. It looks like the score right now is Rogue and Remy: 3 and Remy and Belle: 1. It's nice to know the readers are seeing all of the hints and signs. If only the characters could ,too, eh?****

Pookie Sanchez

- Belle and Scott? Doesn't that seem cruel? :)****

Roguechere

- Yup, couldn't do it. Thank you for the comment on Belle. Made me feel more confident about my writing.****

Coldqueen

- Ex's have a habit of popping up at the oddest times, don't they? Hope you enjoyed Bobby's small (very small) cameo in this chapter!****

The Rogue Cajun

- Fantasmigorical. What a neat word! I'm gonna have to use that somehow . . . is it okay if it makes an appearance in the story?****

TigerStorm

- Scott will bring it up to Remy at some point, but not until they're all settled in New York and he has better proof for his argument. About that last thought, let me know what you thought it was and I'll let you know if you're right. :)****

Comicfn

- I thought it was about time that someone see the light.****

Michelle

- I'm glad I can count on you (and all of the other loyal reviewers) to boost my ego and pester me to hurry up. Makes me feel special.****

Ishandahalf

- It is nice to see that not everyone is blind in this little world I have created. Lots of hidden feelings will make themselves known once everyone gets to New York. Keep your eyes peeled, that's only about three chapters away!****

DemonRogue13

- Thank you!****

Yumiko

- I'm glad I've saved you from such a graphic death. Though, I'm a little concerned about the millions of angry fans. Think I could convince you all into thinking that once a month is soon? :)****

Jadedbeauty

- I'm trying to update quicker. Trust me, I want to write this as much as you want to read it. The fact that I'm no where near being finished is hanging over me like a dark cloud.****

Rogue77

- Sorry I made you think that way. I guess I was just trying to say that Rogue is completely loyal to Belle and would do everything in her power to make her happy as far as her relationship with Remy. The same goes for Remy, too. Rogue is just too nice of a girl.****

Panther Nesmith

- She is kinda fun to write. Glad you liked the chapter!****

Nie Starwhister

- Thank you. It would have been weird, I agree.****

Cate

- Thank you for the wonderful review! I hope I can keep up the same level of work!****

Khay

- Things will be more fun in New York! I can't wait!****

Gothic- Rogue LeBeau

- Thank you!****

Roguewannabe29

- I read your pleas. Sorry for making you wait so long! The truth will come out eventually, but not anytime soon.****

The Rogue Witch

- So glad you rediscovered the story again. Hope this chapter was just as pleasing.****

Ladychopsticks

- So many questions is right. The truth will come out, but not to everyone at once, and the reactions will be interesting.****

Pixie-cat

- Sorry, can't kill off Belle. I kinda need her to finish out the story. It's far from over.****

StarrFirePhoenix

- Finally, an update!****

Jazzyboo

- Thanks for the review!****

Lid'l Rogue

- Not so much Romy in this chapter, but the next chapter is the long-awaited drive to NYU!****

Vaillance

- Thank you for making me one of your favorites!****

Roguelebeaux003

- Yes, I really liked the movie, though I heard it was considered a flop in India.

If I missed anyone, I am so sorry but I am very appreciative of your reviews!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"I can' believe y'r gonna spend a week drivin' t'New York. Why don' y' just fly and send y'r stuff dere?"

"Because that defeats the purpose of a road trip," Rogue said, placing another stack of shirts in her suitcase. "Besides, we're not gonna be driving the whole time. We're gonna stop a different places. We're passin' through, like, seven states. And if we decide not to stop, it'll only take a couple days."

"Like dat's excitin'. All of de fun places are in New York," she said with a roll of the eyes.

"Well, this isn't supposed to be a vacation anyway. Ah'm movin'." Rogue folded the rest of her pants and placed those in the suitcase.

Belle sighed and flopped onto the bed. "Why do y' have to move so soon anyway? Summer ain' even over yet."

"Ah know, but Ah want to get situated in New York. It's a whole different world up there." Rogue moved onto folding her shorts. "Thanks again for lettin' us crash in your new pad."

Belle waved her hand in dismissal. "Don' even worry about it. I'm not gonna be up dere for another two months anyway. Jus' don' go and christen de place. Dat's my job."

"Belle!"

The blonde haired girl got up on her elbows to look at Rogue. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was dat too much f'r y'r virgin ears?" she teased. She got up from the bed and walked over to Rogue's undergarment drawer and opened it. "Seriously, girl, y' have got t'get y'rself laid. Y' got all dis kinky lingerie dat ain' bein' put t'good use."

"De-virginizing myself ain't exactly on my 'to-do' list."

"Yeah, well it should be. Y' don' know what y'r missin'. Look at dis!" She pulled out something from the drawer. "Y' even got a leather bra!"

Rogue shook her head at Belle and smiled. "That's because ya gave it t'me for my seventeenth birthday."

"An' y' still haven' taken de hint. Here," she tossed it into the open suitcase. "I'm sure y' can find good use for dat in college."

Rogue looked at the bra but didn't remove it. "More like y'all will want to borrow it."

"Please. Y' know I got dat in four different colors."

"Ah wouldn't know."

"Dat's because only de privileged may view my unmentionables."

The girls shared a brief laugh. "So, does Remy pass that test?" Rogue asked, a glint of amusement in her eyes. She was surprised to see Belle visibly deflate. "Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?"

"I don' know if y' could really call it paradise," Belle said. She continued to elaborate upon seeing her friend's confused expression. "I jus' don' t'ink dis relationship t'ing is workin' out f'r us."

"Ah don't understand. Remy seemed really happy about everything with y'all. After the last date he seemed really excited an' was all sad that he wouldn't be able to see ya for a while and -"

"Okay, so maybe dis jus' isn' workin' out f'r me."

Rogue gave her a blank look. "Huh?"

"Don' get me wrong. Remy treats me like a princess and is an incredibly sexy guy. Y' should see de stares of envy I get when we're out toget'er. Makes a girl feel pretty damn powerful." Belle grinned until Rogue gave her a chastising look. "I jus' don' know if we mesh well. Y'know we haven' even made out yet? I don' even have dat to keep me interested. Datin' him is startin' to feel like a chore."

Rogue looked at her friend thoughtfully. This type of dating was definitely not Belle's style so she understood her friend's point of view. She was also a bit curious as to why Remy was being so timid in their relationship because that seemed quite unlike him as well.

"Maybe he doesn't want to scare ya off," she offered. "Ah probably sounded innocent an' inexperienced in those letters."

"Dat's 'cause y' are."

"Ah know. Ya only remind me every five seconds." She placed the shorts in the suitcase and moved over to the drawer Belle was going through. "Look, maybe things ain't workin' out right now because y'all haven' had a decent chance to get to know each other. Once ya get up to New York, Ah'm sure that'll change."

"I suppose," Belle responded rather dubiously. "Is there a chance I have t' worry 'bout y' stealin' him away from me while on dis road trip o' yours?"

"Belle."

She threw up her hands in defeat. "Y'r right. Like dat would ever happen. Could y' even see de two of y' together like dat?"

"Ah'm not going to dignify that question with a response," Rogue answered, removing most of the remaining contents of the drawer and placing them in the suitcase. Kneeling down, she blew a stray tendril of hair out of her face and looked at her friend. "Listen, Belle. Ah know it's my fault your in this situation so you say the word an' Ah'll stop with the matchmakin'."

Belle smiled in appreciation. "I know y' would." She walked over to Rogue and gave her a hug. "I'll keep tryin'. I know I haven' given him a decent chance. An' he is too damn cute to give up just yet."

"Thanks, Belle. Remy really is a great guy."

"I know." She straightened back up and walked over to Rogue's closet. "Now let me help y' finish packin'. Dere ain't nearly enough party wear in dat suitcase o' yours!"

* * *

Remy looked at the truck of Rogue's car. "Y' sure dis is it?"

Rogue followed his line of sight to the back of her car. "Why do Ah get the feeling ya don't believe me?"

"All y' have in dere is one suitcase an' two duffles."

"We're only gonna be drivin' for a week! The rest of my stuff is bein' shipped t' Belle's place."

"I know. It just looks so empty."

"That's a good thing. Ah'll get better gas mileage." Rogue shut the hatch. "Ya got the map and stuff?"

"My parents are bringin' them over. Dey wanted to copy all de hotel info and stuff."

After starting the car, they walked back into Rogue's house where Irene was pouring coffee into two travel mugs. "Did you two get enough sleep?"

Rogue added creamer to the two mugs and capped them tightly. "Don't worry, Mom. Being up at seven is normal for me."

"That's true," she agreed, placing the pot back in its holder. "Where are you stopping for tonight?"

"Knoxville. It's about nine hours away but that'll give us time to sight see a bit in Birmingham," Rogue responded.

"I want you both to take care of each other. I trust you both to be safe but that doesn't mean I can't worry."

"Don' worry, Miss A. I won' let anyt'ing happen to Rogue," Remy assured her, placing an arm around Rogue's shoulders.

"Mebbe it's not Rogue she's worried 'bout, _mon fils_," a voice called from behind them. The three looked to see Marianne entering the kitchen.

"Mornin' Mrs. Lebeau." Rogue greeted the older woman with a hug.

"Y' all ready to go?" she asked.

"_Oui, maman_. Jus' gettin' de coffee." Remy greeted his mother with a kiss on the cheek.

"Y'r father outside wit' de rest o' y'r stuff," she told him.

"Great. We we're headed back out dere anyway."

The four traveled back outside where Jean-Luc was waiting. Rogue also greeted him with a hug.

"Y' got y'r cell phones?" he asked, handing Remy a small travel bag.

"Yes, Mr. Lebeau," Rogue assured him, glancing in her car to ensure her phone was on the front seat.

Remy produced his from the pocket of his jean shorts. "Got mine. Don' worry. We'll be fine."

"Who's drivin' first?"

"I'm drivin' t' Birmingham, den Rogue will drive de rest of de way to Knoxville."

"Be sure t'call when y' get to Birmingham," Marianne told them.

"We will." Rogue turned to her mother. "Ah guess this is it then."

Irene pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "You be safe up there. Let me know if you need anything and I'll be there," she told her, fighting back tears.

"Ah'll be okay, Mom. Remy'll help me out an' Scott'll be there at the end of the month. Ah'm gonna miss ya , though." Rogue didn't even bother to hide her own tears.

"You'll see me soon enough. Thanksgiving is not that far off."

"Ah know. Love ya, Momma."

While the two women embraced, Remy said good-bye to his own parents.

"Y' take care o' Rogue, y'hear?" Marianne told her son.

"Don' worry. I won' let anyt'ing happen to her."

Pulling Remy into a hug she added, "Y' take care o' yourself, too."

"I always do." Remy moved away from his mother and hugged his father.

"Y' need anyt'ing, y' just let us know."

"_Oui, Poppa_. I know. We'll be okay."

When Rogue and Irene were done with their own good-byes, they moved onto the Lebeaus.

Irene hugged Remy. "I know I don't have to ask you to look after my daughter. You always have."

"Thanks, Miss A. Y' take care of yourself."

"You have fun up dere," Marianne said to Rogue. "Watch over Remy for me?"

"Ah will. Ah promise." Disengaging herself from Marianne's hold, she was swept up in Jean-Luc's bear hug.

"We're proud of y', too, Rogue. Don' worry 'bout y'r mother. We'll look after her," he assured her with a fatherly smile.

Rogue smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Lebeau. That means a lot to me."

After bidding their final farewells, the two teens settled into Rogue's Jeep. Rogue continued to wave at the three adults as Remy pulled out into the street and blew them a final kiss before they were out of sight.

* * *

Rogue swatted Remy's hand away from her stereo. "No! We are not listenin' to that song again!"

"I t'ought y' liked it," Remy protested, shaking his hand to relieve the sting.

"Ah do, but not fifteen times in a row!"

"I'm jus' tryin' t'learn de words."

"Well, you'll just have to wait 'til your drivin' an' Ah'm sleepin'. Pop in somethin' else."

He stuck his tongue out at her. "Spoilsport." He flipped through one of the two CD cases labeled "Country", trying to find something he liked. He couldn't believe the collection Rogue had. It seemed that she had something from every genre of music, ranging from jazz, to oldies, to country, to hip-hop, to rock. Each of the ten cases she had brought was neatly labeled and filled to the max. He spotted a CD he liked and slipped it into the player, skipping ahead a few tracks.

Rogue smiled as the first strains from "Breathe" wafted out of the speakers. "Didn' know ya were a Faith Hill fan."

Remy smirked as he zipped up the case and tossed it in the back. "Y' kiddin' me? She's hot. Have y' seen de music video for dis?"

"You're such a guy," Rogue admonished, shaking her head.

"It ain' a crime to appreciate beautiful people," he replied.

"Y'know, most guys wouldn' have picked this CD, despite how hot she is. Ya sure there ain't something you're not telling me?" she joked with a wink.

"Are y' talkin' 'bout de fact dat Scott is my secret lover an' de only reason dat I didn' like y' bot' hangin' out was that I was afraid dat y' would turn him straight an' not because I'm bein' protective?"

"So _that's_ why you an' Scott share a room. Gotcha."

"_Oui_. Jus' don' tell Scott I tol' y'. He ain' out of the closet yet."

"Should Belle be worried?"

"Nah, I swing bot' ways," Remy told her in all seriousness. Moments later they both erupted in a fit of giggles.

"It kills me how ya act so serious when we joke like that. Sometimes Ah really wonder if y'all are really jokin'," Rogue said in amusement.

"Trust me, _chére_, I'm jus' playin'. It's jus' so easy 'cause one o' our friends back home is gay and he used to swear up an' down dat me an' Scott had somethin' goin' on. It was a runnin' joke between us," he explained, turning his gaze out the window. Dusk had settled in and the sunset hues had created a picturesque skyline.

"Oh. For a moment there, Ah thought Belle would have to worry more 'bout Scott stealin' ya than about me doin' it," she told him while putting more concentration on her driving. Traffic had slowed a bit so she figured she'd better be more alert.

Remy sat up a bit straighter. "Did she really say dat?"

"Say what?"

"Say dat she was worried about y' stealin' me away from her."

"Yeah, but she was just playin'," she answered absentmindedly. "We had a good laugh about it. She said she couldn' really picture us together anyway."

That piqued Remy's curiosity. "Really? Why not?"

"Why couldn' she picture us together? Ah don' know. She said it would be too weird since we're really good friends an' all." She frowned a bit. Traffic seemed to be at a standstill so she slowed her jeep to a stop. She sat up a bit taller to try and see what the hold up was, as did Remy. "Can you?" she asked without really thinking.

'Hell yeah,' he thought automatically. Why not? He didn't know why, but he found himself taking offense to Belle's comment.

Rogue turned her head sharply to look at him. "What?"

He was still looking out at the traffic. "What?"

"You just said hell yeah."

Heat flooded Remy's ears. 'Shit! Did I say dat out loud?' He looked over at Rogue who was staring at him in shock, further fueling his embarrassment. Guess so. "Uh, dat came out wrong. What I meant was dat, y'know, we're both decent people. Why couldn' we, uh, be together like dat if we weren' good friends or somethin'? It's like she's sayin' we ain' good enough." At least he sounded more convincing than he felt.

Rogue blinked. "Oh." She averted her gaze, digesting what he said. "Huh. Never really thought about it like that. Makes sense." Her countenance changed from off-guard to thoughtful. "Ya know, Ah never really thought about us 'being together'," she said, with air quotes. "Guess Ah always knew you'd end up with Belle and we'd all just be good friends." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the traffic start to move again and returned her attention to the road.

Remy pondered her words for a moment. "Can I ask y' somethin'?"

Rogue smiled. "Always."

"Did it ever bother y' when I talked 'bout Belle all de time when we were little? Or dat I liked her so much?"

"No. Why would it?"

"I dunno. Belle didn' like sometimes how we spent so much time toget'er. I used to ask her why but she could never really give me an' answer. She jus' said she felt left out but she didn' like to do a lot of de t'ings we did anyway."

"Well, Ah guess we're just proof that guys and gals can be 'just friends'," she added, again with the air quotes.

"Who says otherwise?"

"Belle, for one. The topic came up in debate class one day. Ah'm not sure why. They said that a guy and a girl couldn't be good friends. Ah think it was around that time that _Dawson's Creek_ was ending. The main female character ended up being more than friends with both of her close male friends on separate occasions. Actually, Ah think the whole cast slept with each other at one point or another."

"What about Phoebe and Ross from _Friends_?"

"Ah don't know if that works. They almost did it once."

"But dey didn't."

"True. Don't get me wrong. Ah think it totally baloney to think nobody is just friends."

"Yeah. I'm attracted to lots of girls but I know dat we'd never date or get together."

"The same with me. Ah have lots of guy friends Ah wouldn't date. But then ya gotta think about if the girl wants to date ya. If she does, then our argument doesn't work."

"I see."

They were quiet for a moment before Rogue started chucking to herself.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothin' really. Ah just found it a bit amusin' that we were discussing this."

"Why?"

"In that movie, _When Harry Met Sally_, they had a conversation similar to this one on their drive to New York."

"Oh yeah! Dat's when Harry said dat a man and a woman could never really be just friends," Remy recited, remembering the movie.

"Yup. Guess that's not always the case."

"Yeah." He quieted, getting caught up in his own thoughts. 'What does dat mean? Does dat mean she wouldn' date me? Would I date her?' He glanced discreetly at his road buddy from head to toe. Long hair with fetching white streaks, red tank top, denim cut offs, long, athletic-looking legs, and flip-flops. He was attracted to her, no doubt about it. And they had a lot of fun together. But dating? Well, Harry did say dat de whole attraction t'ing does make it impossible f'r de 'just friends' t'ing to work . . .

"Knoxville, fifty miles. It'll be close to nine by then. Ya know where we can stay?"

Rogue's voice interrupted his thought process. "Uh, yeah." He flipped on the car light and rummaged around in the back seat until he produced his hotel list. Scanning the list he said, "We have a room booked at de Hilton." They had decided it was easier to just share a room instead of getting separate ones.

Rogue's brow furrowed in confusion. "The Hilton? Ah don't remember picking that one."

Upon closer inspection he noticed that the hotel list was quite different than the one they had prepared. "Y' know. I t'ink someone changed de list on me. Some of de hotels we chose are different. I bet it was my mom. She didn' like some of our choices."

"That's alright. Ah don't mind."

* * *

"Well, this was definitely unexpected."

"Yeah."

Remy and Rogue looked around their room. Upon arrival, they had been shocked to learn that not only had Mrs. Lebeau booked the room, but she had also paid for it in full and requested that all charges be booked directly to her card. When the bellhop opened the door to their room, they were positively floored. Apparently, she had also taken the liberty of providing them with a two-bedroom suite.

Rogue walked around while Remy took care of the bellhop and the bags. The suite had a separate sitting area, dining area and bar. The television was the largest that she had ever seen in a hotel room. All of the seating looked quite comfy and inviting after a long day of driving. A Jacuzzi sat off to one corner, next to the sliding door that led out to an expansive balcony overlooking the Tennessee River.

Remy walked out to the balcony to see Rogue leaning over the railing. "I put y'r stuff in de left room. Each room has its own bathroom so we don' have t' share."

"That's fine," she told him, keeping her gaze out towards the scenery. "Your mom really out did herself. This view is fantastic."

"Yeah. I t'ink dat dey came up her once or twice on business. Dat's probably why she knew what room t' pick."

"Kudos to her. Definitely made the stop here worthwhile. Ah doubt we would've had this view at the hotel we'd originally chosen."

"Yeah." He admired the view a few moments more. "Y'hungry? We can order room service."

"That sounds good. Don't really feel like goin' out anymore. Ah feel like Ah gotta enjoy the room while Ah can," she said with a smile, walking back into the room.

He followed after her. "No complaints from me. I t'ink I may have to try out dat Jacuzzi. A nice way to end a long day of travelin', don' y' t'ink?"

"Absolutely."

They found the menu on the dining table, next to a platter of strawberries and a bucket of chilled champagne.

"Are ya kiddin' me? Strawberries and champagne? What are those for?" she asked.

Remy looked equally puzzled. "Don' know. Didn' exactly expect her to encourage underage drinkin', especially since we're on a road trip."

Rogue plucked a strawberry from the plate and took a small bite. "Well, the strawberries are great but Ah might have to leave the champagne alone. That stuff makes me a little loopy."

"Tell me 'bout it. I can hold my liquor but two glasses of dis an' I'm TKO'd."

She picked up the menu and started leafing through it slowly. Remy moved to look over her shoulder. "Anyt'ing good?"

"Ah think so. They have sandwiches and steaks an' stuff. See anythin' ya like?"

"Dunno yet. Keep lookin'."

They flipped through the whole book twice before deciding.

"Ok, so we're gettin' de chicken strips wit' fries, de club sandwich wit' fries, two salads, two bottled waters an' two glasses o' milk. Want any dessert?"

Rogue shook her head. "Probably not. Don't want to eat to heavy before goin' t'bed."

He agreed and picked up the phone to order. Rogue kicked off her shoes and flopped down on one of the couches. Grabbing the remote, she turned on the television. Moments later, Remy joined her.

"Dey said 'bout twenty minutes. What's on TV?"

"Just news an' stuff." She kept changing the channel until _Rush Hour 2_ popped onto the screen. "Ya wanna watch this?"

"Dat's fine. I like dis movie."

"Let me guess, 'cause the secret service agent is hot, right?" Rogue asked jokingly.

"Ha, ha. Funny, _chére_," he said, poking her in the ribs. Rogue responded by jumping about a foot away. They eyed each other for a minute before realization kicked in. Rogue watched in slight horror as a slow grin spread across his face and a mischievous twinkle began to glint in his eyes.

"After all these years?" he asked. Tickling Rogue used to be one of his favorite pastimes as a child. It was the one thing they weren't equal at since he wasn't ticklish.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean -." Her sentence was cut off by a squeal as she leapt from the couch before Remy could pounce on her. She giggled wildly as he chased her around the room. He was able to get a few tickles in here and there but she was quite adamant about not being caught.

"Aw, come on, _chére_! It'll be just like old times," he called leaping over the chair she knocked into his path.

"No way!" she called backed, circling the coffee table. "The last time Ah let ya catch me ya tickled me 'til Ah peed in my pants!" She tossed a couple of couch pillows at him in hopes of slowing him down as she made a mad dash for her room. She tried to slam her door shut but Remy stopped it with his arms. Throwing her body weight against the door, she tried to close it in vain. She couldn't stop laughing and yelped when he pushed his way into the room. She hopped onto the bed and quickly found herself to be trapped. Seconds before Remy moved in to attack, Rogue's cell phone started to chime.

"That's my mom," she said breathlessly, recognizing the assigned ring tone.

"Saved by de bell," he replied, also slightly winded. He turned to exit the room to give her privacy.

Rogue stepped off the bed and bent to retrieve her phone from her bag. As she moved to straighten up, she felt two sets of wriggling fingers descend upon her waistline. She shrieked at the surprised contact and squirmed in Remy's grasp before he relented and walked out the door, a triumphant look on his face.

* * *

Rogue opened her door and was pleased to be greeted by the smell of food. She noticed that their meals were already arranged on the dining table and Remy was waiting patiently for her before eating. She smiled. "Ya didn' have to wait for me, sugah."

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn'?" he replied with a charming smile of his own. "What did y'r mom say?"

"She said Ah should knock ya one for that cheap shot." She playfully hit him in the arm before walking past him to sit in her chair.

"It's y'r fault. Shouldn' have turned y'r back on me."

She stuck her tongue out at him before starting to eat.

They ate in relative silence, most of their focus going to their food and the television. Once they were finished, Remy offered to clear up the plates while Rogue started the hot tub. Both changed quickly, wanting to get a good soak before showering and heading off to bed. When Rogue emerged from her room in a simple black bikini, Remy couldn't help but compliment her on how good she looked. She blushed modestly and returned the compliment, mentally noting that her companion was quite attractive with his shirt off. Once they were in, they were both quite thankful that Mrs. Lebeau was kind enough to throw in this particular perk.

"Your mom sure knows how to make a road trip worthwhile," Rogue sighed as she slipped deeper into the warm water. "Are all of our other rooms gonna to be like this?"

"Most likely," Remy responded from the seat across from her.

Rogue closed her eyes and let the warmth envelop her. She ran through a mental checklist of their trip. Seven days. Six left. Made it through Birmingham. Saw the Vulcan. Three more stops before New York. Maybe more. Probably need to leave early tomorrow. Wanted to spend a couple days in D.C. Need to get some sleep . . .

Rogue sat up when she felt a feathery touch on the sole of one foot. Opening her eyes, she saw Remy looking at her with a hint of worry.

"Don' be fallin' asleep like dat. It's not safe. Y' were fallin' into de water."

"Ah didn' even realize. Ah was just thinkin' 'bout our trip."

"What 'bout it?"

"Just the places we're goin' an' stuff. What time we have to leave tomorrow."

"What time were y' t'inkin'?"

"Around ten. Gives us enough time for breakfast and to get enough sleep."

"Sounds good. I could set up our breakfast order for tomorrow before we go t'bed."

"That's a good idea. That way we don't have to worry about it."

They lapsed into silence once more, letting the water lull them into relaxation. After ten minutes, Rogue could feel her eyes start to get heavy again and decided she had better get out before she drowned herself. Remy watched as she stood and quickly had to avert his eyes. Though they may be friends, he was a guy and seeing a hot girl getting out of the water could make any guy hot under the collar. Once he was sure she had her towel securely wrapped around her body, he exited the tub as well.

Rogue hid her faint blush as she caught sight of water droplets cascading down Remy's chiseled chest. The attraction she had felt for him when they had reunited back in May flared again momentarily before she clamped down on those feelings. Feelin' like that is gonna get ya in trouble, girl, she chastised herself. They were just friends. He liked Belle. It was her job to get them together. She cleared her throat. "So, Ah'll see ya in the mornin'?" she asked.

"Yup. Have a good night, _chére_," he answered.

They shared a brief smile before Rogue retired back to her room, the memories of the afternoon's conversation running through Remy's mind as he watched her walk away.

* * *

Remy opened his eyes. Turning over to look at the time, he saw that it was only three in the morning. Closing his eyes, he tried to go back to sleep but found that he was wide-awake.

'Y' gotta be kiddin' me. I need t'sleep. I'm drivin' first in de mornin',' he thought. Burrowing further under the covers, he tried to clear his mind, hoping that would help him. As soon as he had sunk himself back into the mattress, a muffled thump soon had him sitting up in bed. He scanned his room, checking to see if anything had fallen. When the sounds of faint sobbing reached his ears, he had no doubt where the sound had come from.

Getting out of bed, he quickly made his way to Rogue's room and slowly opened the door. Sure enough, Rogue had fallen out of bed and was tangled in her sheets on the floor, tears streaming down her face. She was huddled up in a fetal position, but when Remy reached out to gently grasp her wrists, her hold loosened. Her eyes were opened but unfocused.

"Rogue?" he called out softly.

"Please," she whispered. "Don't let them get me. They'll hurt me again." She looked so terrified as she spoke.

"Y'r safe, _chére_. I won' let anyone get y'." Sure that she wasn't having a violent dream, he let go of one of her wrists and brushed the tears from her eyes.

Her eyes closed at the contact. "Ah'm scared. Ah know they want to hurt me again."

"No one will hurt y'. I'm here to protect y'," he said soothingly while slowly untangling her from the sheets.

"Please don't leave me," she pleaded when Remy stood to put the blankets back on the bed.

"I'm not leavin' y', _chére_. I promise." Kneeling down, he scooped Rogue up in his arms and delicately placed her in the middle of the bed. Somewhere between the ground and the floor she had snaked her arms around his neck and was not letting go.

"Ah don't want to be alone," she murmured weakly as her head hit the pillow.

"I know, _chére_. I know." He waited a few moments to see if she would let go. When she didn't, he sighed and climbed in next to her. As soon as he had settled in, Rogue was cuddled up next to him in a flash, her head resting lightly on his chest. Her arm draped across his torso and held him a bit too tightly for his comfort, but he made no move to loosen her hold. He could feel the wetness of her tears against his skin so he placed a light kiss on her head and brought his arms around her in a hug, hoping that would help stop their flow. He laid there for a while, just holding her close, until a wave of sleepiness crashed upon him. As he slowly slipped from consciousness he briefly wondered who would be more embarrassed in the morning when Rogue found out they had slept together with he only in a pair of boxers and she in a sports bra and shorts.

* * *

A.N:

I know. I know.

This wasn't as quick of an update.

But I hope it was worth the wait!

Does anyone think this chapter was a bit much with all the tickling and what not? I had some friends who participated in such activities (male and female, just friends) so it seemed normal.

Please excuse any typos. I was anxious to get this out and probably didn't catch everything when proofreading.

Thanks to all the readers who wait so patiently. My work life really is like a roller coaster. When you throw in my personal life, my hobbies and studying for exams, it's amazing that I can even post once a month! I will do my best to at least update once a month, though. I really love this story and it's dying to be told.

Reviewers are the best! Thanks so much for imparting your words of wisdom, compliments, threats, etc. . . :)

**Star-of-Chaos** - God, I hope so. :)

**Roguewannabe29** - Thanks! I like parades!

**Ladychopsticks** - Never thought of myself as a crazy suspenseful person but, hey, it works!

**Kelly** - I really tried to update this quickly. There was just so much going on in this chapter that I wanted to get it just right.

**SassyGrl024** - Thank you so much for the compliments! They totally make me smile. Belle is out of the picture momentarily but she'll most likely be mentioned so her presence is never really gone. Remy should be on the verge of putting his finger on the reasons for his unexplained feelings, hopefully. I think the one to look out for is Rogue, since she seems to be most oblivious right now. Things are bound to get interesting once people who don't really know them start to notice how they interact. I mean, really, I know that guys and girls can be just friends but if I saw two people doing the things they did in this chapter I would definitely have my assumptions . . .

**Aro** - I hope this chapter saved you from your twitching demise! Seriously, I didn't realize how much time had passed between updates. I was all thinking I was being on the ball and it's already been like a month! Geez. Well, I hope this was worth the wait. There was so much that needed to be written and I just had to get it all out.

**Roguechere** - Okay, I really have to get the move on with these updates. People's livelihoods depend on it! I did enjoy Bobby's little cameo. I had thought of several different ways to bring him in but I thought that was best. Glad you enjoyed!

**Lid'l Rogue** - A whole lot more Rogue/Remy interaction in this chapter. I thought it was quite fun. How 'bout you?

**Rogue4787** - I agree that the boyfriend comment was a definite burn but it was necessary. At least it planted the idea of Remy being Rogue's boyfriend in Remy's head. And Remy needed to see he was acting like a jealous boyfriend and not an 'overprotective brother.' Keep a look out for how their feelings for each other pan out. I foresee things getting a tad more complicated. :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the topless Remy thrown in for kicks!

**Caliente** - Rogue does appear to not be interested, doesn't she? I attribute that to her loyalty to Belle and her insane belief that Remy and Belle belong together. But maybe things are about to change, huh? I mean, look at all the stuff that happened in this chapter (which was so much fun to write)! Don't worry. These things just take time. Most of the time, two friends who are in love don't really see it until something big happens.

**AthenaAlpha** - So happy you love it! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Khay** - How's the road trip shaping up so far? I think I rather like it. :)

**Bad-girl4** - I can't promise anything big on this road trip but I'd venture to say that it's definitely interesting!

**RoryRogue** - Thank you for making this story one of your favorites! I appreciate all your kind words. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Coldqueen** - It's always fun to be loved by someone in a weird stalker way, I think. :)

**The Rogue Cajun** - I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I have no doubt that the overprotectiveness will carry over into college and probably multiply a hundredfold with all those college guys out there.

**DemonRogue13** - Thank you!

**Gothic- Rogue LeBeau** - I like your positive thinking. They'll figure it out sooner or later!

**Blink182dbzluver** - Yay! I like knowing that chapter rocked! I hope this one does, too!

**T.** - I think the whole Cupid thing is cute. Makes Scott a way more likable guy.

**Cheers Darlin** - Cool name! Here's another chapter for you, but I bet I didn't end it at a good place, huh?

**Enchantedlight** - Rejoice! They'll be out of contact with Belle for more than two weeks!

**Ishandahalf** - I know you've been looking forward to this road trip for quite some time. I hope that it lived up to your expectations so far!

**Rogue Warrior Spirit** - I'm really hesitant to have Remy find out the truth anytime soon because I'm pretty sure he wouldn't take it all that well. Let's let everyone have their fun first before the drama begins!

**Charice** - It's sounds so bad to say that Rogue is lying to him but it is the truth, I guess. I'm sure the guilt will get to her at some point.

**Vaillance** - Thank you!

**Panther Nesmith** - Seriously, why can't more Scotts be this nice? It's a good turn for him. :) Glad you liked the chapter.

**Pirateprincess** - I know this is waaaay past the ten days overdue mark but hopefully it's slipped in before the violence started? bats eyelashes I'm seriously working on my update time but I can't make any promises!

**Rogue77** - Woohoo! It's always great to have satisfied readers!

**Steph Silverstar** - Sorry to say that there will be no Scott and Jean in this story. Jean had Duncan's baby in France and I just couldn't put Scott with her after that. Too mean. I think someone else may soon catch his eye, though. Keep reading!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP_

The sound of the alarm roused Rogue from her slumber but she didn't move to shut off the offending noise, hoping it would just go away. When she heard something slam against the clock and stop the alarm, she smiled inwardly and burrowed against her pillow, which smelled faintly like Remy.

Never one who was fond of alarm clocks, Remy was quite irritated when the one of the nightstand had started blaring in his ear. Turning his head and cracking an eye, he barely made out the location of the offending electronic device before reaching out and hitting it, hoping it would turn off. Much to his satisfaction, it did and he returned his arm to its hold around Rogue.

They lay there for a few moments before some semblance of coherent thought seeped into their brains.

As Rogue tried to keep the sleepy haze from leaving her, her body began to register the fact that she was touching something. She shifted her legs slightly to try and figure out what.

When he felt something brush up against his nether region, Remy's body reacted automatically and moved a hand down to stop whatever was moving around down there.

Rogue's eyes blinked open when she felt a hand touch her knee.

Remy's eyes blinked open when his hand came into contact with what he knew was a body part that didn't belong to him.

Rogue suddenly became _very_ aware of her surroundings. Based on what she could discern from her position, she was draped across the bare chest, no, wait, _half-naked_ body of Remy Lebeau with his one arm holding her comfortably around her shoulders and his other arm reaching down to rest its attached hand on her knee. Her body was pressed up quite close to his side and her legs were tangled with his somewhere beneath the covers.

Remy knew Rogue was most likely awake, if her movements weren't indication enough. When her knee shifted slightly, her suddenly became _very_ aware of his close proximity to her. As his ears began to burn, he realized that he was probably going to be the one who was more embarrassed this morning.

As Rogue tried to figure out how they gotten into this position Remy's voice reached her ears.

"Uh, _chére_? Could, y', um, not move y'r leg any higher?"

Rogue caught the underlying meaning of his words when she realized where her leg was resting. "Oh!. Ah'm sorry!" She could feel the blush invading her cheeks as she detached herself from his side, making sure her leg complied with his request. Once they were no longer touching, Rogue sat up and Remy mirrored her actions. She took in the sight of his tousled hair, sexy bedroom eyes, and toned chest and quickly averted her eyes.

"So," a slightly pink Rogue started, not quite making eye contact and pulling a sheet up to shield her half naked body, which Remy was thankful for because he couldn't help but look at her body, "is it safe to assume that Ah had another nightmare last night?"

"Yeah. I tried to leave but y' were pretty torn up and kinda wouldn' let me go." He noticed the blush that was slowly creeping down her neck. "I'm sorry. I didn' mean t' embarrass y'." He tried to pull the blankets closer around him as a certain part of his anatomy felt quite exposed at the moment.

"No. It's all right. Ah was just surprised is all. Ah didn't realize you were here."

Could things get any more awkward?

They sat in silence until the annoying shrill of the alarm began anew. Both reacted to turn it off, resulting in Rogue lunging into Remy and catapulting both them, the bed covers, and the clock to the floor. They landed next to each other, Rogue on her stomach and Remy on his back. The clock clattered somewhere above their heads. Miraculously, the alarm still continued to ring. Rogue turned her head to look at Remy sprawled on his back with the covers tangled around his lower body.

Then she began to laugh and all of the awkwardness melted away.

She didn't know why. It just seemed so comical to her.

Her laughter must have been infectious because Remy joined in right along with her.

After a moment, their amusement died down and Remy got up and turned the alarm off completely. He leaned back against the bed and watched as Rogue did the same, pulling some of the sheets around her. "Y' okay?"

"Yeah. No harm done. Haven't fallen off a bed in a while, though."

"Actually, y' did last night. Heard y' fall."

"Oh. Guess it was a bad one, huh?"

"Not really. Not as bad as de one y' had at my house. Y' just cried for a while."

"Well, that would explain why my face feels all funny an' my eyes are puffy."

He looked at her face. "Y'r eyes don' look puffy," he assured her. "Y' remember any o' it?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Ah feel like Ah just slept through the night." Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Ya think this'll be a problem at school?"

He tilted his head so that it rested on hers. "Nah. Y'll be okay. Jus' have y'r roommate call me."

"If she remembers. She might just freak out."

Remy disagreed. "I don' t'ink so. Y' don' look scary. Jus' helpless." He paused a moment before admitting softly, "Y'know, I t'ink out of all o' de nightmares I've seen y' have, last night was one of de hardest for me to watch."

Rogue's eyes widened a bit. "Why? Ah thought ya said it wasn't that bad?"

"It wasn't. It was jus' hard seein' y' cry an' not be able t'do anyt'in' to stop it. An' y' were jus' so scared. I guess it jus' bothered me knowin' I couldn' do anyt'in' to make y' feel better." He put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a brief squeeze.

Turning slightly, she hugged him back. "Thanks for bein' there."

The feeling of her hand brushing across the bare skin of his chest reminded him of how underdressed he was.

"I t'ink I should go get ready," he said, getting up. He put out a hand to help her up and she took it. Once on her feet, she tossed the blankets back on the bed.

Seeing her uncovered once more, Remy fought the urge to gawk and instead hurried out the door.

* * *

"What scares ya the most?"

"Nine. Losing someone I care 'bout."

"Have ya ever been on a blind date?"

"Eight. Yes."

"Really? When?"

"Seven and six. Durin' my freshman year in college."

"Hey!" Rogue protested. "That's not fair! Those last two shouldn't count."

"Dey were questions, _chére_. Dey count. Y' gotta watch what y' say," he told her with a wink and a smirk. "Told y' I was de master of 'Twenty Questions'."

They had been driving for a couple hours now, on their way to Roanoke. Remy was driving so Rogue decided to keep herself occupied by engaging them in some old-fashioned road games. They had been playing 'I Spy' for a while until Remy started to spot things like his gold chain and Rogue's bra strap. The game had then changed to Twenty Questions.

Rogue crossed her arms. "Fine. _Tell_ me about your blind date."

"Better," Remy told her. "De date isn't really much to talk 'bout. Scott wanted t'go out wit' dis girl, Emma, but she wanted to go on a double date. Somehow dey got de brilliant idea to set up two of deir friends. Scott begged me t'go on it and I gave in."

"Keep going. Ah know there's more."

"Not really. Emma and her friend were two sides of de same coin: too stuck up to tolerate. T'ankfully, Scott realized dis and we just ended up havin' dinner and not goin' t' de movies after."

"Oh. That wasn't really exciting. You should here about the one Belle set me up on."

Remy didn't like the sound of that. "Care to tell me about dat?"

"It ain't your turn to ask questions yet. Gotta wait 'til then," Rogue told him with a wink of her own.

"Hmph. Fine."

Rogue smiled and pondered her next questions. She only had five left for this round.

"Have ya ever been in love?"

"Five. No."

"Me either. How many kids do ya want to have in life?"

"Four. Two. "

"Boy and a girl?"

"Three. Yup. Girl first."

"Wow. Another commonality we have! Interesting. Ah can see ya as a good dad." She paused for a moment. "Are ya a virgin?"

Remy didn't answer right away. For some reason, it felt odd telling her that he wasn't.

"Two. No." He spared a glance at Rogue and saw that she didn't seem affected by his answer.

"How many girls have ya been with, just out of curiosity?"

Again, he hesitated. "Last question. Three."

Rogue didn't expect any further explanation so she was surprised when Remy kept talking. For his part, Remy felt like he had to explain himself. It was like he felt guilty having to admit that to Rogue.

"I was a sophomore de first time. Me an' my girlfriend at de time were curious about it so we did it. Genevieve was de second, but she didn' know dat. I t'ought dat we really cared about each other so it was de next logical step in our relationship. De last one was in college. We were really attracted to each other an' t'ings just went a little to far in a couple of study sessions."

"Oh."

He shot her a look. "Does dat bother y'?" He was worried she might say yes.

"No! Not at all. Ah jus' always thought the number would be higher, since you're a self-proclaimed ladies man and all and Ah can totally see why girls would throw themselves at ya, if ya catch my drift. Ah know some people who've already had fifteen partners. So, compared to them, three ain't so bad." She looked at him. "Was that too personal of a question?"

"No. I was jus' worried dat y' might t'ink less of me."

"Oh, sugah, Ah could never think less of ya. We've been friends for way too long to be like that around each other." She reassured him. "Now it's your turn."

Good. He had some things he was wondering about her now.

"Why don' y' tell me 'bout dat blind date y' had?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing this would be coming. "Twenty. Belle thought that Ah needed to get out more so she set me up with one of the guys in her acting troupe. He was nice and really cute but he wasn't really my type. We went dancing and he kept flirting with the other girls at the club. And when he would talk, he kept referring to himself in third person and it was so annoying. Later on that night, Ah walked in on him making out with some other girl in the ladies' room. After that Ah called my mom to pick me up and left the guy at the club."

"Dat's messed up. Did de guy ever apologize t' y'?" Mentally, he berated himself for wasting a question.

"Nineteen. Nope. Ah don't really care about that. Ah didn't really want to talk to him again, anyway."

"I bet." He thought a moment. He really wanted to ask her how far she had been with a guy but he wasn't sure if he would like he answer if it was past first base. Deciding against going there just yet, he asked a different question.

"What's y'r favorite flower?"

"Eighteen. Fire and ice roses."

"Hm, jus' like Belle."

Crap! "Uh, yeah. Funny, huh?" Good job, Rogue. Way to let that one slip, she scolded.

"Not really. Dey're pretty flowers. What three actors do y' find most attractive?"

"Seventeen. Hugh Jackman, Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt."

Remy laughed. "Are y' serious?! Hugh Jackman?"

"Sixteen. Yes! Don't laugh. Ah didn't make fun of ya when ya said Jessica Simpson! An' she's not even a real actress!"

"Sorry. He jus' seems so old."

"You said Diane Lane and she's in her forties."

"Okay, okay. Point taken." He paused a bit before asking a question that had been on his mind for a while. "Do y' find me attractive?"

Rogue blushed but laughed. "Fifteen. Remy, a gal would have to be blind to not find ya attractive. So, yes, Ah think you are a very attractive man," she admitted.

"More attractive den Scott?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Fourteen. Yes, but not by much," she answered but they both knew she wasn't telling the truth. Or, at least Remy hoped she wasn't.

"Yeah, right. Y'know Scott's Robin to my Batman. How many boyfriends have y' had?"

"Thirteen. Technically, only one serious boyfriend. But I've dated lots of guys."

"What do y' mean by 'lots'? Five? Six?

"Twelve, eleven, ten. More like ten or eleven. Ah've been dating since junior high."

His jaw just about dropped. "Ten or eleven? Does dat mean y' made out wit' ten or eleven guys?"

"Nine and eight. No! More like three. Ah don't kiss until the fourth date, if it gets that far."

"Oh." That doesn't seem so bad. I can understand three guys being somewhat privileged enough to kiss her. She did say dat she had a serious boyfriend, though. I wonder how serious? "Are y' a virgin?" he asked a bit hesitantly.

"Seven. Yes," she declared without reservation.

T'ank de heavens above. Don' t'ink I could handle knowin' someone was intimate like dat wit' her. He let out a tiny breath of relief.

Rogue heard him and felt slightly offended. "What was that for? Would _you_ think less of me if Ah wasn't?"

"No! It's just de t'ought o'someone bein' wit' y' like dat seems wrong."

She arched an eyebrow. "Really? An' why is that?"

"I dunno. It jus' doesn't seem right."

"Would it bother ya if Belle wasn't a virgin?"

"No. I know she ain't, anyway." It was the truth. Belle had let it slip that she wasn't when they last went out. For some reason, he didn't expect her to be.

"Then why am Ah different?" She wasn't offended anymore. Now she was curious.

"Look, I don' want t'fight about it. I just don' t'ink dat anyone is deservin' enough t'have dat special part of y', okay? I know it may sound two-faced and overprotective, but it's just different wit' y'. Y' deserve t'be treated like gold, _chére_. I want y'r first time t'be wit' someone who loves y', not someone who jus' wants t'get in y'r pants. I wanted the same for Belle but it's too late for dat."

The car was silent.

Until Rogue started chuckling to herself.

"What?" Remy inquired, but with a smile. Obviously, she wasn't upset.

"Nothin'. It's just that was the same reasoning Ah gave Belle when she told me to get laid."

"Oh." Then her words actually registered in his head. "She told y' to get laid?!"

Rogue couldn't help but crack up at Remy's reaction. "Six. Yes! Ah told her it wasn't on my 'to-do' list but she said it should be. She packed a leather bra and all the rest of my lingerie in my suitcase!"

"I can' believe she told y' dat," disapproval evident in his tone. That definitely didn't sit well with him. Putting that out of his mind to ponder later he tried to think of the rest of his questions. That is, until the rest of what Rogue said registered in his head.

"Wait, y' have a leather bra?"

* * *

It was midnight when the duo finally arrived in Washington D.C., tired but happy. They had spent a little more time than they had initially planned in Roanoke, but the day had been fun. Both had been quite impressed when their itinerary listed the opulent Four Seasons Hotel as their selected resting place. Again, Remy's mother had taken care of the charges and both could not help but admire their surroundings as they made their way up to the Potomac Suite. When Remy opened the door, Rogue could feel her eyes bugging out of her head as they swept through the room.

"This seems a bit extravagant for two days, don't ya think?" she asked Remy after he collected their bags.

"No kiddin'. We may have t'stay three nights t'enjoy dis place. Dis is a big step up from de Hilton." He moved to deposit their bags in the bedrooms. It was then that he quickly noticed that something wasn't right. "Uh, _chére_?"

"Yeah, sugah?" Rogue called from the window overlooking the city.

"Dere's only one bedroom."

Rogue promptly spun around and followed his voice. "What?" Stepping just inside the French doors that separated the bedroom from the living room, she saw Remy looking at the massive king-sized bed, dumbfounded. "How can there only be one room in here?" she murmured out loud as she peered outside and searched for another set of French doors.

A sudden knock on the door cut off any further comments from Rogue. She moved aside to let Remy out to answer it, but trailed behind, curious as to who would be knocking this late. Opening the door, they saw a young blonde man holding a tray of chocolate covered strawberries, a bucket of what they assumed was champagne and two slender flutes. A small vase of orchids was also on the tray for what had to be presentation purposes.

Confusion evident on his face, Remy said, "I'm sorry, y' must be mistaken. We didn' order dat."

However, the man merely smiled and replied, "It's part of the room package, sir."

Rogue and Remy exchanged a look before clearing a path for the man to walk in. "Ah've never been here before. Do all rooms get this?" Rogue asked.

"No, ma'am. This is part of your room package," he answered cheerfully, setting the tray down on the dining table and transferring its contents, flowers and all.

"Uh, what room package did we get?" Remy asked. "Dis was a gift," he added.

The man straightened and turned to address them, his ever-present smile plastered on his face. "Oh! I see! Well, this is part of the 'Romantic Rendezvous' package. In addition to the strawberries and champagne, you also receive a full breakfast every morning, served either in your room or in our award-winning Seasons Restaurant, located one floor below the Main Lobby. Are you celebrating an anniversary?"

"Uh, no," Rogue said. Her mirth was evident in her tone as she tried to contain her amusement at the utter disbelief etched on Remy's face.

"A honeymoon, then?"

"No, not'ing like dat," Remy tried to clarify, finding his voice. "We were jus' visiting de city."

"Oh! Well, I do hope you enjoy your stay here. If you are hungry, In-room dining is available twenty-four hours a day. The special for today is breast of chicken with baby carrots, snow peas, and red peppers stir-fried in our homemade sesame-plum sauce. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance to you. My name is Mark and I will be your server in the evenings."

"Uh, great. T'anks, Mark." Remy pulled out his wallet and slipped Mark a generous tip.

"Thank you kindly, sir, ma'am." Giving a slight bow he scooped up the tray and strode out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

Frowning, Remy looked at Rogue who was sampling the strawberries. "Does dis make sense?"

She shrugged. "Ah don't know. Maybe it was a good deal. Just ask your mom about it tomorrow. It's late. No sense in worrying about it right now." She picked up a strawberry and walked it over to him. "Try this. It's way better than last night."

He took it from her but didn't eat it. "Should we get another room with two beds?" Going back to the conversation they were having before they were interrupted.

"Ah don't have a problem with sharing. The last couple times we slept in the same area Ah somehow ended up sleepin' with ya anyway so it's not a big deal anymore. The bed's huge and we can just put a pillow between us or somethin'." Then she thought of this morning. "If ya want your own bed, though, we could get another room. Ah don't want ya to feel uncomfortable about it."

Uncomfortable? After last night he did feel a little uneasy about it but he told himself it was just Rogue. Last night was different because she was having a nightmare and they hadn't planned on sharing a bed. He could handle this. She was just a platonic friend that he found attractive.

"No, dat's fine. I don' have a problem wit' it."

* * *

A.N.:

I had some real thoughts to add in here and I can't remember them all. Oh, well.

I hope no one was offended by the whole virginity dialogue. I wanted to add that in because some guys really feel this way. Seriously. I know some of them. Plus, I figured that Remy would feel that way towards Rogue.

Thanks for being so patient with me and keeping up!

****

pixie-cat

- I'm sorry, but, yes, it's going to be a while before Remy finds out. But this chapter was hopefully more roadtrippy, fluffy goodness!****

bad-girl4

- So what did you think of the wake up scene? Too much? Not enough? :)****

Aro

- Hope you got to finish that homework. Trust me, this fic won't die. And look! It only took me two and a half weeks to update this time!****

VinGirl

- Well, I updated sooner than I have been! Thanks for the review!****

DemonRogue13

- The nightmares are like night terrors. They just come about for no concrete reason, but in Rogue's case, can be influenced by things she sees during the day. Nothing really special about them. They're just thrown in as a character trait. Well, that and it gets her into the same bed as Remy! ;)****

The Rogue Cajun

- Thank you so much! Always love it when I please a reader!****

La Magdalena

- I'm glad you had that reaction to the last chapter. That's kinda what I was going for. I think Belle will always cause trouble in their relationship because Remy and Belle are kinda technically seeing each other. But who knows? Feelings might changes later on down the road. ;)****

Caliente

- Was the whole virgin thing really that surprising? I hadn't realized. Well, I hope that this chapter cleared up some of that confusion. Can you believe I didn't throw in the movie reference until the very end? I hadn't realized it until I watched the movie again, and I was like, hey! That fits my story!****

Roguewannabe29

- Thanks for the parade and the song! That's my favorite Evanescence song! It makes me feel way special that this is one of your all time favorites!****

TruleyRogue

- Yay! It feels so great when people tell me that they really like my story! Thanks so much!****

Ishandahalf

- Trust me, I wanted to throw a lot more lustful moments on this road trip but it wouldn't work out with what I have planned! I'll see what I can squeeze in.****

Pennytree

- Thank you for your review. That's what I had thought when I started this story. I wanted to do something fun without the complications of mutant powers. I'm glad you like Belle because I've had to try really hard to make her a bearable character to right. I was sorely tempted to make the relationship between Rogue and Scott more existent but it just didn't work out that way. But I'm glad you're enjoying this anyway!****

T.

- Yup, Remy's mom just can't seem to keep out of their business. But at least she makes things way more fun!****

Me

- I do believe that is the question on everyone's mind. I can't spill the beans because it's way to early but I do hope you keep reading to find out!****

Jadedbeauty

- Here's another chapter up! Didn't have to wait too long!****

Charice

- You're welcome! I like responding to my reviewers because I'm so appreciative of the reviews, so thank you for reviewing! I wasn't put off by the whole Rogue is lying thing. It's true, she is. But she is doing it for the reasons you listed.****

Rogue Warrior Spirit

- Yes, where is the plot without the drama?****

Blink182dbzluver

- Thanks so much!****

Panther Nesmith

- No apologies necessary. I'm just glad you enjoyed the chapter! Wouldn't it have been more fun, though, if I had written the hot tub scene differently?****

Rogue4787

- How do you like this hotel room? I'm not sure if this chapter was as fluffy as the last but I thought it was fun!****

Steph Silverstar

- Thanks for the review!****

Ally

- The best ever? Really? Thanks so much for that!****

Pookie Sanchez

- Yeah, I'm liking not having to deal with Belle right now.****

Enchantedlight

- I love how Remy plays that hero role.****

Kurayami Pansa

- I've thought about that but haven't decided for sure. We'll see how things go along.****

Chinxy

- I can't say when Remy will find out the truth but I know it won't be soon. Keep reading to find out!****

Gambit's Girl

- Thanks so much! 


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Rogue opened her eyes and grabbed her cell phone to check the time. Eight-thirty? How can Ah go to bed at three and be up at eight?' She didn't understand it but she was, indeed, wide awake. Groaning lightly, she snuggled under the covers and turned over. When Remy came into view over the pillow separating them, she surpressed a snicker. Still dead to the world, he was flat on his back, hair sticking out all over the place, with a pillow clutched tightly to his chest. She watched him silently, marveling at how much his looks had changed, but still remained the same. His nose was still as perfectly sculpted as it was when they were little. He was tanner and definitely more muscular. Her eyes traversed across his toned arms, exposed by the tank top he wore, are remembered how, at one time, the circumferences of their biceps were quite similar. Gone was the boy she had known in her youth. She couldn't help but smile upon thinking how generous puberty had been to him. Her attention remained on his arms as she recalled how it felt to have them hold her close. It surprised her at how much comfort she could find in Remy after all these years but surmised that their relationship was a special one.

Sighing softly, she slipped quietly out of bed and into the bathroom, grabbing her phone and travel bag on the way. Shutting the door quietly, she padded over to the marble soaking tub and turned on the faucet. The water splashed against the bottom of the tub a bit too loudly for her liking and she hoped that the door muffled sound to the bedroom. She rummaged around the bathroom, gathering her supplies. A large, fluffy towel was placed along the edge of the basin to act as a headrest and would double as her drying towel. Opening the cabinets one at a time she found a thick, terry-cloth robe, shampoo, soap, conditioner and, to her delight, bath bubbles. She quickly added the solution to the rapidly filling tub and placed the remaining toiletries along the edge. Then she went to her travel bag and pulled out her under garments, placing them on top of the robe. Slipping off her t-shirt and shorts, she stepped in and turned off the valve when the water level covered her shoulders. Drying one of her hands on a nearby washcloth, she grabbed her phone and leaned against her 'pillow'.

Irene had just sat down with her cup of tea when the phone rang. Getting up, she walked to the counter and picked up the cordless. "Hello?"

__

#Hi, Momma. It's me.#

"Good morning to you," she returned, sitting back down at the table. "I received your message last night. You got in late."

__

#Yeah. Spent more time in Roanoke than expected. We decided to stay an extra night in D.C. to make up for it.#

"Is that why you're up so early? To get a head start on the day?"

__

#No. Remy's still sleepin'. He drove all day yesterday and we didn't get to bed until three.#

"I'm assuming that you both are enjoying your accommodations?" she asked with faint amusement. Marianne had provided her with her amended copy of the itinerary the night before and Irene was quite shocked at the changes.

Rogue smiled at her mother's words. "Ah take it that ya got the revised copy?"

__

#I would venture to say that this is quite the first class road trip. I insisted on paying for part of the expenses but Marianne would have none of it. She just kept elaborating on how you deserved to be pampered before going off to college and that it would be good to rest your bones during such a weary trip.#

"Well, let her know that Ah'm enjoying my morning bath very much," she said, poking at some of the suds on the surface.

__

#So tell me about this room.#

"It's beautiful. Very posh. All of the furniture is mahogany and the bathroom is marble. We think we may have been given the wrong room, though, because it only has one bed."

Irene's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

__

#Yeah. It was so late we ended up sharing the bed anyway, but it was odd. We got chocolate covered strawberries and champagne this time. We talked to the server and he said that we were given the 'Romantic Rendezvous' package. Ah guess we get a full breakfast every morning. We figured it must have been a good deal or somethin' like that.#

Or something like that indeed. Her wide eyes narrowed a bit and she shook her head slightly in disbelief. "Perhaps it was," she told her daughter. "At least you are resting comfortably and you two are safe." She sipped her tea before continuing. "Belle asked about you, by the way. She was wondering how you both were doing."

Rogue frowned a bit. She had almost forgotten about her other best friend.

They chatted for a few minutes longer. After hanging up, Rogue focused on bathing herself for a bit before settling down in the warmth once more. She let her mind wander and soon found herself thinking about Belle and what they had discussed before she left.

* * *

Remy groaned as he rolled over onto his stomach. He was awake and he didn't want to be. It felt too early to him still.

Finding his current position not very comfortable, as it did not register that he had been holding a pillow, he turned to lie on his back. Yawning a bit more loudly than necessary, he stretched his arms out above his head. I wonder if Rogue's up.

The sudden thought of his friend instantly reminded him that they were sharing a bed and he realized that if she wasn't up already, his noisy tossing and turning was sure to have provided a rude awakening. Feeling guilty he sat up slightly and looked to his side to check on her. His eyes were greeting with the sight of an empty bed. Relieved that there was no witness to his inconsideration, he flopped back down on the pillows, folding his arms behind him to rest his head on his hands. He wasn't laying there for long when he heard the bathroom door open. Turning his head, he saw Rogue standing in the doorway, freshly bathed and wrapped in a robe. A troubled looked marred her pretty features.

"Mornin', _chére_. Y' okay?" he questioned.

She locked her eyes with his but didn't answer. She stepped into the room and walked towards the bed as if she was in a daze. "Ah think Ah have a confession to make," she said softly.

He realized the robe she was wearing had not been tied tightly and he could see glimpses of a black leather bra and lacy black panties. "What's dat, _chére_?" he managed to utter through a rapidly drying throat.

Sitting down next to him on the bed, she took one of his hands in hers. "Ah've been doin' some thinking and Ah don't think Ah can hide it from ya anymore." She kept her eyes downcast.

Concern momentarily muted the attraction running through him. Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her head so he could look at her. "Hide what, _chére_?" He grazed his thumb against the soft skin of her cheek as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Remy, Ah . . ." She faltered as her eyes locked with his.

He wasn't sure how it happened but the next thing he knew his lips were pressed against hers and her body was pulled flush against his. A small part of his brain was telling him that something was wrong but the rest of him could care less. When he felt Rogue's shy response to the kiss and her small hands reach under his shirt, all coherent thought flew out the window. Gently, he pushed her back onto the bed, marveling at how her lips were as soft as he had imagined them to be. As she stripped off his shirt, he parted the robe a bit more, exposing what was hidden beneath. Resisting the urge to let his hands roam her body, he instead focused on trailing kisses down her neck. His lips grazed the tops of her breasts and he could feel her nails dig into his back. His restraint slowly crumbled as Rogue moaned in pleasure. Tentatively, his hand traveled down the side of her body until it came into contact with the skin of her thigh.

Or, at least what should have been the skin of her thigh.

Confused, Remy opened his eyes. Instead of seeing Rogue, he saw a pillow.

Getting up quickly he looked around the room.

'What de hell?! Seriously? I was dreamin'?'

Evidently he was, as Rogue was no where to be seen.

'Guess so. Seemed so real.' His body seemed to agree with him as he became quite aware of how aroused he was. _Dieu_. Dere's no way I can look Rogue in de eye right now. Getting up, he headed to the bathroom to relieve himself.

In his sleepy haze he failed to notice the tub filled with water as he entered the door and neared the toilet. So, when Rogue's head broke through the water's surface, it was quite understandable when Remy moved to shield his private area and cry out, "Holy Mother of God!"

Startled at hearing someone else in the bathroom with her, Rogue jumped slightly and sharply turned her head to see a hunched over Remy back into the sink counter, eyes wide with surprise. "Remy?!"

"Y' scared de crap out o' me! Where de hell did y' come from?!"

"Ah'm takin' a bath. Ah was under the water so ya probably didn' see me when ya came in. Sorry," she sunk lower in the water, very aware of how naked she was. Noticing that he wasn't moving his position she asked, "Are ya okay?"

Remy was definitely not okay at the moment. Seeing Rogue in the bathtub forced his dream to the forefront of his mind once again, further reminding him of why he needed to go to the bathroom. Feeling the heat of embarrassment threatening to engulf him, Remy stumbled out of the room, telling Rogue he would just use the other bathroom.

* * *

It wasn't until breakfast that Remy and Rogue talked about this morning's 'incident.'

He had walked out of the bedroom, fully showered and dressed, to see Rogue curled up on the couch watching TV. A cart full of food sat next to the dinette table, completely untouched. It didn't take long for her to notice his presence and she looked up briefly before turning back to the show she was watching.

He sighed inwardly. He should have expected as much. The better part of his morning had been spent avoiding her. He hid out in the living room until she was finished in the bedroom and then had locked himself in the bathroom for the past hour. Whenever she tried to talk to him, he didn't respond. If he remembered correctly, Rogue did not take avoidance well.

He couldn't help it. Seeing her just reminded him of his dream.

"Mornin', _chére_. Why didn' y' eat?"

"Waited for ya," was her curt reply.

He cringed a bit. Yup, same old Rogue. He tried to charm his way back into her good graces. "Y' didn' have t'wait for me, _chére_," he said with a smile.

Rogue's eyes never left the TV. "What kinda lady would Ah be if Ah didn't?"

"_Touché_," he commented, realizing his own words were being thrown at him. Evidently, charm was not working in his favor, but at least she was talking to him. "Care t'join me in dis lovely feast?" He pulled out a chair for her and watched as she rose from the couch and seated herself in her chair. Glad that she accepted his invitation he moved to his own seat, ready to serve her. Before he had a chance to ask what she wanted, she grabbed a plate and proceeded to serve herself. Sighing outwardly this time, he seated himself and waited for her to finish, which didn't take long. He knew she didn't have an appetite when she was upset or when something was bothering her so he held his comments about how empty her plate was. As he made his selections, he watched her out of the corner of his eye and noticed that she was definitely trying to avoid eye contact. However, she did politely wait for him to be finished before she began eating.

"Remy, what's wrong?" she asked after taking a couple of bites.

"It's nothin', _chére_. I'm fine."

"Sugah, you are not fine. Ah could feel how uncomfortable you were around me all morning. Ah'm sorry Ah forgot to lock the door."

"No, dat was my fault. I should've knocked."

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Ah called the front desk. They said they'd have a two bedroom available after three."

"Y' didn' have t'do dat." He hadn't said anything to her about it, but he really didn't mind sharing the bed. It was fun being able to talk to someone as he was falling asleep.

"It's okay, sugah. Ah understand." She gave him a ghost of a smile. "Ah feel bad for makin' ya turn red two days in a row."

"Dat wasn' y'r fault."

"Rem, it's okay. Ya don't have to make me feel better."

Taking a deep breath, he decided to bite the bullet. He felt bad for making Rogue feel bad over a silly dream. And that's all it was, a silly dream. It wasn't like he enjoyed it or anything, right?

"_Chére_, de reason why I freaked dis mornin' was because I had a dream 'bout y'."

Rogue was taken aback. "Was it a bad dream?"

"Um, not really." His ears were threatening to burn, again.

"Ya don't have to tell me if ya don't want to."

"It's not dat, it' just, well," he paused, averting his gaze. He was about ready to chicken out. What am I gonna say? 'In my dream, we were makin' out?'

'Making out' was such an understatement, anyway.

"Um, y' were wearin' a leather bra," settling for part of the truth.

"Is that all?" Remy looked up to see a faint blush invading her cheeks, but was surprised that her voice indicated that she didn't think it was a big deal.

"Y' wanted to handcuff me t' de bed and have your wicked way wit' me?" he tried again. Maybe telling her the whole truth wouldn't be so bad.

That got a reaction out of her. "No Ah didn't!"

"No, but it was a nice t'ought."

She looked at him incredulously. "You perv!" she said, throwing a strawberry at him, which he caught.

"Okay, okay, sorry!" Seeing her reaction to that particular comment made him decide that she didn't need to hear the rest of it.

She glared at him playfully. "Anyway, that no big deal. No need to be embarrassed about it. It's probably because of all that stuff we were talkin' about yesterday."

Oh, yeah! Forgot 'bout dat. Remy nodded in agreement. "Dat makes sense."

"So that's why ya felt all weird around me?"

"Well, yeah. It seemed weird havin' dreams like dat about y'."

"Um, maybe if ya pretend Ah was wearing a bathing suit it wouldn't be so bad."

"Mebbe." He highly doubted it. Bikini bottoms were not black and lacy.

"Do ya still feel weird around me now?"

"No, not after tellin' y'." It wasn't a complete lie, he did feel a tiny bit better.

"Are ya sure? We can still get that two bedroom if it makes ya feel better."

"No, don' worry 'bout it. Besides, y'll probably have another nightmare an' come crawlin' in my bed anyway," he said with a smirk.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Rogue muttered sarcastically.

"I'm jus' playin', _chére_. Seriously, dough. Everyt'ing is okay. It was just a dream." He smiled at her in reassurance, ignoring the faint voice in his head that whispered, 'yeah, keep telling yourself that.'

* * *

When Marianne and Irene went out for their afternoon walk, Irene was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Y' okay, Irene? Y' look a bit upset."

Irene shook her head. "No, I'm not upset. I talked to Rogue earlier."

"Is everyt'ing okay?" she asked, concerned.

"With them, yes. However, Rogue did tell me that they were now staying in a one-bedroom suite at the Four Seasons."

"Dat sounds like fun. Dey've got de best rooms," Marianne gushed, feigning ignorance.

"Marianne, you promised!"

"What? I didn't do anything!"

Irene could not resist the urge to roll her eyes. "Yes, you did! Honestly, chocolate covered strawberries and champagne?!"

"I couldn't help it!" Marianne admitted without guilt. "I'm a sucker for romance."

Irene shook her head. "Things like this cannot be forced. I told you that we have to leave them alone. Besides, Remy is dating Belle right now. The three of them do not need to be put in an awkward situation. They've been friends for too long."

"Belle ain't good enough for my boy. He deserves better," she protested a bit crossly.

"Then let him see that on his own. Remy is a smart boy."

Marianne sighed in frustration. "He's jus' so stuck on Belle because of all dose letters."

"Letters can very easily hide the true nature of the writer. They need to get to know each other in person. Remy may or may not feel differently after seeing the true Belle. Plus, Remy and Rogue are getting their fair share of bonding time right now. Perhaps they may see each other differently the more they get to know each other," Irene reasoned.

"How can you be so neutral about dis?"

"Because our children deserve to have their chance at true love. I want Rogue to find the same kind of love that I had with her father. I am certain she could have that with Remy but I do not want to force her into it. They might miss out on all of the wonderful things a person goes through when building a relationship."

Marianne looked at her friend oddly. "Have y' been reading dose sappy romance novels again?"

Irene playfully hit her companion. "Oh stop it. This coming from the self-proclaimed hopeless romantic who booked the _Romantic Rendezvous_ package. Could you be any more obvious?"

* * *

A.N.:

I know this may have been a bit short, but I'm itching for them to get to New York. That's where all the really fun stuff begins!

Thanks as always to my lovely reviewers, for, without them, I probably might never finish this story within a reasonable timeframe.

****

Rogue Warrior Spirit

- I hope the whole revelation turns out great. I know what I have in mind but I'm not to sure how much the readers will like it . . .****

TruleyRogue

- Thank you! I really am glad you liked it so much. I liked it, too, but I wasn't sure how it would be received.****

Roguewannabe29

- I know, I know. I've got to be one of the many slow writers out there. But thanks for hanging in there and making me one of your favorites! That really makes me feel speical.****

Bad-girl4

- Thanks! That's sort of the effect I was going for with the whole Twenty Questions game. Sometimes even I keep forgetting that Remy thinks he knows Belle but really knows Rogue and Rogue really knows Remy. It would be kind of odd if they didn't ask about each other since supposedly they hadn't kept in tight contact for the past ten years.****

Blink182dbzluver

- Thanks much!****

Ishandahalf

- I'm glad you liked their wake up scene. At first I was having trouble trying to get across my thoughts but soon everything just started to flow. I thought laughter would be the best way to diffuse the situation. I think he's still fighting to be in the 'big-brother' type mode with Rogue still, which is why the virginity thing was such a big deal to him and not so much with Belle. It hard to tell how Remy will take the betrayal. I guess it just all depends on his relationships with the two ladies at that time. Sorry I couldn't fit in Johnny Depp since I could only name three!****

PomegranateQueen

- She's definitely pushing it, no doubt about it. Messing with someone's feelings is not always the best idea, even with the best of intentions in mind. Although, she did try to give Belle a way out in Chapter 12 and Belle chose to decline. I guess now it's not so much all her fault anymore. We'll just have to see how Remy takes the big news.****

Caliente

- Really, did you think she would actually keep her word about not doing anything? This trip was way too tempting! I'm glad you got the Hugh Jackman part. That's exactly what I was going for!****

Jadedbeauty

- Always glad to brighten someone's day! I don't know about the shower thing just yet, but it is a great idea! I'll have to try and work that in somehow . . .****

Roguechere

- No biggie about the missed review. I do it all the time. I always thought that Mr. Jackman looked particularly fetching in _Swordfish_ so we'll just use that one. :)****

VinGirl

- Thank you! I'll do my best!****

SweetRevenge151

- Thank you! It's okay to push the Rogue/Remy relationship. Everyone else is!****

Steph Silverstar

- Thank you!****

Aro -

Thank you! I love Remy's mom's character. She's way too much fun to write. And it's nice to be able to blame all that romantic stuff on her. Glad you caught the third person reference. There are just so many things that are distinctly Rogue and Remy that I find amusing and I have to throw them in. It's great knowing that the readers are picking up on it! That would be verbal irony to slip that tidbit of knowledge to Belle, huh? Well, she did kind of hopefully ask if she had to worry about Rogue taking Remy from her . . .****

Me

- Thanks!****

T.

- I'm glad that everyone is reacting so positively to the 20 Questions. I was hesitant about that.****

La Magdalena

- Yeah, the whole virginity thing was a sticky issue for me. But I figured that Rogue would be the type of person to really consider such intimate relations. Plus, she wasn't really in a serious relationship with anyone. She just did a lot of dating. Maybe it's the prude in me but I really just didn't see her as a casual sex kinda girl.****

Charice

- Wow! I think you're the only person who said it was somewhat okay for me not to update so often! But you were right, though. I do like to put a lot of thought into my chapters. Sometimes the words just flow out but then I have to consider the future implications of what happens and then have to do some major editing. I'll have to ponder the nightmare thing. I had considered having a reason behind them but I didn't want her to come off as this person with all this emotional damage (i.e. Marvel's version of Rogue). Night terrors don't have to have a trigger but I'll think about it. :)****

Gambit's Girl

- Sorry it's not so soon!****

Enchantedlight

- Things certainly seemed awkward in this chapter but I don't know if it was all due to sleeping in the same bed.****

DemonRogue13

- Thank you!****

Rogue4787

- I feel like I may have disappointed you with this chapter! The tension was still there but I don't know if they got any closer to hooking up. If anything, this may have been a step back for Remy.****

The Rogue Cajun

- I'm trying my best! Thanks for the review!****

Lady Farevey

- I'm so glad you found my story! Your positive reaction definitely made me smile. I'm feeling a bit bad that I'm going to have to force you to be more patient with the Rogue/Remy developing potential relationship! Hopefully this chapter makes up for it!****

Chinxy

- You know, knowing that they are technically sleeping together, I'm having a hard time keeping their relationship strictly platonic.****

Browneyedimagination

- You would think that after this chapter Remy might get some sort of a hint but I don't think that happened. ;)****

Pookie Sanchez

- Remy will find out the truth eventually, but not anytime soon. It's too much fun having him and Rogue hanging out together without the evil truth coming out.****

Panther Nesmith

- Sex definitely seemed more prominent in this chapter to me. Someone was definitely hot and bothered!****

MusicalMooky

- Thank you so much for taking the time to review every chapter! I really enjoyed reading your feedback on everything I had written. And you were my 300th reviewer! Much love to you! Perhaps Remy should have figured it out by now, but I think that they haven't spent enough time together for him to jump to that conclusion. Belle has attempted to show interest so I think he's blinded by that. Sometimes it's really hard to see something that's standing right in front of you. Irene is supportive of a Remy/Rogue relationship but she doesn't like the idea of forcing it. To her, love should just come naturally.****

Spankychaff

- Thanks! I'm glad you agreed with my portrayal of Remy. The whole man whore image didn't sit well with me so I tried to make him more like the average guy.****

TigerJade

- Thank you for your review! Don't worry, I enjoy reading freakishly long reviews of nonsense. As for your question, in my story Rogue's real name is Rogue. In their little universe, that kind of name is normal. I really resist using any of the names she been given because no one has really confirmed that any of them are her real name. 


	15. Chapter 15

Let's reiterate the old disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't own the characters or the places mentioned in this story.

**Chapter 15**

It was their last day in D.C.

Thankfully, the initial awkwardness of the first morning had melted quickly, especially with so much to absorb their attention. They were just too good of friends to let it hang between them. Plus, Remy figured that there was no longer a need to feel embarrassed since Rogue was more than okay about it. Plus, it was a pretty good dream.

After two days of playing tourist, Rogue and Remy decided to spend the third day just winding down and wandering the city. After breakfast this morning, they took a leisurely drive and found a small shopping center. After perusing most of the stores, they stumbled upon a quaint little bookshop and had spent the past couple of hours scouring the shelves for anything that might grab their interest. Rogue had been successful in her quest while Remy was still trying to find a selection.

"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help but notice how beautiful your eyes are."

Remy's ears perked up at the compliment. Looking over the edge of the book he was browsing, he spied Rogue sitting at their table, looking terribly caught off-guard by the stranger hovering in front of her. He figured she really shouldn't be; this was the third time in the past couple of days that someone had tried to talk to her.

"Uh, thanks," he heard her reply curtly and watched as she returned her attention back to her book. Rogue, for her part, was slightly flattered but was not really in the mood to converse with a man who looked fifteen years her senior.

"Is that the natural color?" the man asked, taking a seat across from her.

__

'Mon Dieu

, is dis guy serious?' Remy thought, rolling his eyes. How can one hit on a lady by suggesting that any part of her might be fake?

"No." He surpressed a snicker at Rogue's blatant lie.

"Oh. I see you also have excellent taste in books. The one you are reading is one of my personal favorites. How are you enjoying it so far?"

Clamping down on his surging feelings of protectiveness that arose anytime Rogue was approached, Remy watched as the man persisted in his advances for a while longer before sensing that Rogue was getting uncomfortable with the fact that this person was not taking a hint. He himself was starting to not appreciate the man's forwardness and had hoped that Rogue could take care of this herself, as she had the others. Evidently, that was not going to happen. Taking his book, he strode over to their table. Reaching the offending man's side, he crossed his arms and looked down at him distastefully. "I do believe y'r in my seat, _homme_."

The stranger looked up to see Remy glowering at him and was clearly intimidated. Getting up quickly, he attempted to cover his mistake. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize that she-"

"- is my girlfriend?" Remy finished. "Yeah, I figured as much when you decided to sit down uninvited."

Looking completely mortified, the man scampered off and Remy took his now-vacated seat. "Dat was fun," he smirked.

"No it wasn't. Seriously, '_is that the natural color_'? That's like askin' a gal with big boobs if she had implants. Ah know it takes a lot of guts to talk to someone like that but Ah'm not really impressed with a man who just sits down uninvited. It's like invading my personal space." She paused for a bit. "Does that seem too unreasonable?"

Remy had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "_Chére_, he made uncomfortable, end of story. It was clear dat y' didn' want t'talk to him so he should've taken de hint. Don' feel bad 'bout it."

"Ah know." She eyed the book in his hand and changed the subject. "Find something ya like?"

"Not really. Y'r gentleman caller was distractin' me."

"Oh. Ah'm sorry. Do ya want to stick around longer?"

"Nah." He lifted up her booked and scanned the title. _Angels and Demons._ "We'll just buy y'r book an' I'll read it when y'r done."

"Okay." She looked at her watch. "It's still early. Anything else ya want to do before we leave tomorrow?"

Remy sat back and thought a moment. "How 'bout dinner and a movie? I just want t'do somethin' relaxin'."

"Sure. That sounds like fun. Let's go see _Tomb Raider_. I've been wanting to see that one for a while."

"I didn' know y' were a fan."

"Oh, yeah. One of my good friends was a big comic and video game fan. He even got me to enter a Lara Croft look-alike contest at the comic convention last year. Ah'll have to show ya the pictures." She smiled fondly at the memory.

Remy envisioned Rogue in a pair of tiny shorts and form fitting white T-shirt and figured she probably could have won the contest. "Did y' win?"

"Nah. Came in second," she said, flashing another grin. "Ah think the hair is what did me in."

* * *

"C_hére_, y' awake?"

Rogue mumbled something that vaguely sounded like 'no, she's sleepin' and continued to doze. Their evening had not been as relaxing as they had anticipated. On their way back from dinner, they had stumbled upon a lively jazz dance club reminiscent of their beloved New Orleans jazz. After much pleading and negotiating, Rogue relented to checking it out, provided they leave at a decent hour, which turned out to be three in the morning. Remy figured that since checkout wasn't until eleven, they would get more than enough sleep. However, they both neglected to remember their eight A.M. breakfast request. Now that they were back on the road, the car ride was more than enough to lull Rogue back to sleep. Even though Remy could function well on little rest, driving for the past couple of hours was starting to get to him and he was hoping a little conversation would help keep him awake.

"Come on, _chére_, talk t' me. I'm fallin' asleep here," he half whined.

"Not my fault. Ya told me we'd be home by twelve." Her voice was more audible, but she still kept her eyes closed.

"Y' could have made us leave, y' know."

Rogue snorted. "Please. Ya know Ah'm a sucker for jazz. Ya said ya would be my willpower. A whole lot of good that did me."

"I jus' took it for granted dat y' were de stronger one and would keep watch on time. Y' know I don' pay attention to dat stuff when I'm havin' fun."

Rogue actually opened her eyes and sat up at that comment. "So when _you_ promised to watch the time because _you_ wanted to go the club and _you_ didn't want to go by yourself, you were just telling me what Ah wanted to hear so Ah would go?"

Knowing by her tone of voice that she was more teasing than serious, he continued their banter. "I didn' say dat. The ambiance of de club was distracting, not t'mention de company," he supplied with a wink.

"Flattery will get ya no where, sugah. After spending so much time with ya Ah think Ah've developed an immunity to your charms."

Remy mock pouted. "Y'r not being a fun road buddy."

"Again, not my fault." She settled into her seat more comfortably." Why did ya tell room service to come at eight anyway?"

"Momentary lapse in judgement?" he offered.

"Just remember that you said it and not me," she replied, her eyes fluttering closed once more.

Remy reached over and shook her leg a little. "Come on, Rogue! Y' owe me for yesterday."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "For what?"

"Saving y' from dat guy in de bookstore."

"No, Ah returned the favor last night by going with ya to the club and saving ya from that couple that kept asking if you wanted to 'join them in the bathroom','" she shot back, complete with air quotes.

"Oh, yeah. I had blocked the memory from my mind 'cause they were freakin' me out."

They both lapsed into silence and Rogue was steadily losing the fight to stay awake. Remy managed to hold on for another ten minutes before he started to fee his eyes get heavy once again. Looking over at his partner, Remy came to the conclusion that she would be absolutely no help to him. Shaking his head with a faint smile on his lips, he changed the CD in the stereo to one he knew would help keep him awake. As soon as the first few strains filtered out of the speakers, Rogue's groaned and opened her eyes. She thought she had hidden that CD.

"Okay, okay! If your gonna torture me with that then Ah'll try to stay up."

"But, _chére_, y' said I could play it when I was drivin' an' y' were sleepin'," he reminded her, earning himself a sharp poke in the side.

* * *

Remy whistled appreciatively. "Belle's got herself a sweet place here."

"Yeah, no kidding," Rogue agreed. They had finally reached New York, found their way to Belle's fancy pad, and were currently flopped down on her over-stuffed couches. Getting up, Rogue explored the rooms. Belle had told her she could store her stuff in one of the guestrooms so she figured that would be the one she would stay in. "Have ya ever seen that movie where Mel Gibson can hear women's thoughts?" she asked over her shoulder as she walked away.

He thought for a moment and then caught on to her thinking. "Yeah, dis place looks like de apartment he had in de movie."

"That's what Ah was thinking." Huge bay windows lined the sitting area. The walls were painted a fetching charcoal gray and complimented the black furniture nicely. Splashes of red and white adorned the room in the form of throw pillows, vases, wall art and decorative rugs. The wood floor was a deep mahogany polished so shiny that Rogue was hesitant to walk on it. The bedrooms were located on one side of the flat while the kitchen and dining area occupied the other. The sitting area divided both.

Moving to what she assumed was the guest bedroom, Rogue pushed on the already open door and looked in. To her surprise, the boxes she was supposed to have shipped from home next week were already stored neatly in the room. "Holy cow."

Remy heard her and followed her to the room. "What?"

"My stuff's already here."

"I thought they weren't supposed to be shipped 'til next week?"

"So did Ah. Ah'll guess have to call and see what happened."

As if on cue, her cell phone began to ring.

"I guess I'll look in the kitchen to see if the food's done," Remy said, eliciting a confused look from Rogue.

"I t'ought if I said it, food would appear on the table," he grinned.

"You're a dork because that made no sense," she told him with a shake of the head. Retrieving her phone she saw that Belle was calling. "Hello?"

__

#Hey! Y' guys in New York yet?#

"Yeah. We just got to your place. Why's all my stuff here?"

__

#That was my surprise! I had t'meet up wit' de interior decorator a few days ago so I had y'r mom ship y'r stuff early so dat it could be dere when you arrived.#

Rogue smiled at her friend's thoughtfulness. "That was real sweet of ya. Thank you."

__

#Don' worry 'bout it. I know I'd want all my stuff around when I move so I figured y' would, too. How's Remy doin'?#

"Great. He's right here. Want to talk to him?" Rogue saw Remy visibly brighten.

__

#I can't right now. Gotta get ready for de show tonight. Tell him I'll call him later, 'kay?#

"Okay."

__

#Thanks! Gotta go! Have fun!#

Remy watched Rogue hang up. "She didn' want to chat?" he asked, his voice betraying his disappointment.

"She did, she just had to go. She said she'd call ya tonight."

"Dat girl is always so busy. Every time I try to call, she can' talk, or she says she'll call back and she doesn'." His disappointment was quickly replaced with frustration.

"Ah'm sorry, Rem. That's just the way Belle gets when she's doin' a show. She can't help it. Ah bet things will be different once she moves up here."

"I guess."

On impulse, Rogue reached out and gave him a hug.

When she pulled away, Remy asked, "What was dat for?"

"Because Ah knew ya needed one. Don't worry. Everything will work out. Ah promise."

Rogue was so hell-bent on making his love life work out that he had to smile at that. She was always looking out for everyone else's best interest. It was a wonder that he had managed to go so long without maintaining constant communication. Now that they were reconnected, he couldn't imagine living without her in his life.

"You're lookin' at me funny and it's startin' to creep me out."

Remy refocused on Rogue. "Huh?"

"Ya look kinda dazed. Want to go to bed for a bit?"

His face lit up with mirth. "Ya offerin'?"

"Oh, grow up!" she chastised with a soft smack on the arm and a smile. "Must everything have sexual undertones?"

"No, but y' make it so easy." He grinned at the face she made. "Anyway, I ain' sleepy. What do y' want to do now?"

"Nothin' that requires a lot of energy. I'm still tired from last night."

"Den let's stay in tonight. We can find some take out and hang out here."

She nodded in agreement. "That sounds good. We can explore tomorrow." She walked out of the room to retrieve her purse, Remy following behind. "Know any good places?"

"_Chere_, NYU may be a great school, but dey don' have de best food. Knowin' all de good food places is mandatory for survival."

* * *

Despite how tired he had been feeling all day, Remy was suffering from a nasty bout of insomnia. Sitting up on the couch after tossing and turning for the past couple of hours, he gave up on falling asleep anytime soon. He settled back comfortably into the soft cushions and draped his blanket across his lap. Since Rogue had called the guestroom, he decided to crash on the couch. Belle's room was fully furnished and he had been told that it was okay to use the bed, but, for some reason, the thought of sleeping in there didn't sit well with him. Rogue had offered to trade but he had declined, thereby winding up on the couch.

Glancing around in the dark, he looked for something to pass the time. The cover of the shades on the windows mostly blocked the lights from the streets, so he didn't have to search too blindly. Seeing nothing of major interest, he reached for the trusty remote control and turned on the television, making sure to hit the 'mute' button before the volume kicked in.

As he searched for anything worth watching, his thoughts began to wander. He was a tiny bit aggravated that he couldn't fall asleep. He knew he was tired and he could feel himself starting to get cranky. Right before heading to bed, he and Rogue had been struggling to stay awake while watching a movie from Belle's extensive DVD collection. It's prob'ly 'cause dis is a new place.

So engrossed was he in his thoughts, he didn't notice the new presence in the room until it was right behind him.

"Why are ya still up?"

Remy was visibly startled by the new voice, made even more evident as the remote tumbled from his hand and clattered on the floor. "Good God, _chére_! Y' scared de hell out of me!" casting Rogue a look of surprise.

"Sorry," she stage whispered with a smile. "Ah thought ya heard me since it was so quiet." She walked around to the front of the couch and sat next to him. Reaching under her, she grabbed Remy's blanket and cocooned herself in it before settling her head on Remy's shoulder. "Ah'm surprised your still up. When Ah saw the glow of the TV from under the door, Ah figured Ah should check on ya."

"I'm okay. Just couldn' sleep. Why are y' still up?"

"Ah couldn't sleep either. Ah don't know why. Ah was so sleepy when we were watchin' TV earlier but as so as my head hit the pillow Ah felt wide-awake." As she focused on the screen in front of her, her brow crinkled in confusion. "Why are ya watchin' with no sound?"

"I figured y' were sleepin' an' didn' want to wake y'. Guess I can turn it up now." Rogue lifted her head as Remy bent forward to retrieve the fallen remote. He turned the sound back on but reduced the volume to a low level. "Up for some cartoons?"

"Ah don't care. Anything works right now."

He placed the remote back on the coffee table and leaned back against the cushions and hooked an arm around Rogue shoulders. Taking the invitation, Rogue scooted closer and rested her head on his chest.

Because of the late hour and darkened room, conversation seemed inappropriate. Instead they stayed comfortably silent. Before they knew it, they were both asleep fifteen minutes later.

* * *

A.N.:

FYI - From here on out my descriptions of NYU will be loosely based on the actual school. Having never been there, I've based my assumptions on what I've heard, what I've seen from the movies and whatnot and my own personal college experiences.

In other news:

I'd tell you my excuses about taking SOOOO long to update but I don't think they really matter. Let's just say life happened.

On to my favorites - the reviews!

****

Star-of-Chaos

- Yup. I figure that's why so many people work to make their dreams a reality. Hope some of these characters think the same way, eh?****

PomegranateQueen

- Ah, _Dawson's Creek_, junior-high-must-see-TV at its finest. (This is not a dis, I loved that show. My guy friends in college use to make fun of us for watching it and fabricated that description. Never fails to make me smile.) I don't know if I want to go the road of angst. It gets so frustrating at times. I will keep your opinion in mind, though.****

T.

- Of course someone was going to walk in on someone else. Those are classic moments! Sorry you had to wait so long for this not so great chapter but I swear it will get better!****

Ishandahalf

- Hey! Johnny Depp won for Best Male on the MTV Movie Awards! That had to have made your day. I know everyone hates how Remy and Rogue are attracted to each other like a magnet to a refrigerator and do NOTHING about it but I figure they need more than lust to build a solid relationship, especially with that pillow being such a strong competitor . . . Yeah, Belle ain't at the top of my favorites list and I'm trying to see how far I can realistically go without having her touch Remy. So glad you dig the moms! They're great and so much fun to write!****

Me

- Yeah, new chapter!****

Chinxy

- A wet dream would have been terribly mortifying but I had entertained the thought. :)****

Dreamschemer

- Thank you for your review!****

Rogue Warrior Spirit

- Yup, no confessions any time soon. I hope that the ending is spectacular. I keep re-writing it so we'll see what the finished product ends up being.****

Roguechere

- Ah, you mentioned no stipulation on who had to be making out with whom. :)****

Enchantedlight

- This update was so not soon. Sorry about that!****

Panther Nesmith

- Thank you! Glad you liked the chapter so much. Risqué scenes are a bit difficult for me to put on paper but I'm going to try my best to put more in here. No promises, though. For me, things like that tend to pop up randomly.****

La Magdalena

- Karma always comes full circle so I'm sure Rogue will get hers.****

DemonRogue13

- Thanks!****

Aro

- Yeah, Remy's pretty much with Belle because of the letters and his however many years old crush on her. As far as his bathroom activities . . . I leave that up to the readers to decide. I'm sure you all have much better ideas that I did. And, again, no separate bedrooms. Really, though, wouldn't it have just been so wrong if I had made that happen?****

Steph Silverstar

- Thank you!****

Blink182dbzluver

- Thanks!****

Tigerjade

- Thank you for encouraging me to take time updating. Unfortunately, I took way longer than anticipated on a chapter that I am not excited about. Damn the need for transitions! Again, this chapter isn't too long but I think things will be getting better from here on out.****

MusicalMooky

- Thank you for the double review! You are on the right track with the way their interaction is perceived by others. I'm fairly certain that will come up. Like the last scene in this chapter, moments like that are normal for platonic friends but it is not always perceived as innocent. It always looks questionable. They probably should have been suspicious of the single bed, but who really suspects their parents of playing matchmaker? Especially when said parents know who it is you are interested in?****

Rogue4787

- It's amazing how vivid one's dreams can be, isn't it? I wonder how much, if any, Remy wished that dream was real? And it did nurture the idea of them being together that Belle had planted in Rogue mind.****

Perturbedpercy

- Thanks!****

Pookie Sanchez

- I know this one is short, too. I hope it's not too disappointing.****

Charice

- Van Helsing is really good? I've heard mixed reviews about it. It is true; people do have dreams about their friends of the opposite sex. I know plenty of people who have. This chapter was a bit difficult to write, simply because I didn't like the wording I was using. Hopefully, it came out okay because I really wanted to post!****

Lady Farevay

- Yes, their courtship is going antagonizingly slow, but it's not so bad is it? Little by little they're making some progress, although, it does seem like one step forward, two steps back.****

Romyness4ever

- Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_#Hi. Dis is Belladonna. I'm not available right now but leave y' name and number an' I'll call y' back.#_

Remy hung up his cell. He'd left a message yesterday. Didn't need to leave a new one.

Putting the phone back into his pocket, he scanned the room for a sign of Rogue. They were in the Metropolitan Museum of Art gift shop. Since their arrival in New York, they had been playing tourist, trying to catch at least two or three sights a day. Today they had lounged around in the morning before grabbing lunch at Gray's Papaya, a tasty little hot dog joint in Manhattan. From there they headed to the Upper West Side and spent pretty much the whole afternoon and part of the evening at the museum. It was pretty easy to. Each exhibit had so much to offer. They hadn't had a chance to visit The Cloisters today but would try tomorrow, along with Central Park.

Finally spotting her, he walked over to her location. She was completely engrossed in the tables of books.

"Find anyt'ing good?"

She glanced up at him briefly and blew out a breath. "Yeah. Too many things. Can't decide what to get."

He frowned a bit, looking at the selections in front of her. There were a lot of good choices. "Jus' close your eyes and pick one. Y' live here now. Y' can come back and pick up de others slowly."

"Ah suppose." Instead of following his advice, though, she picked up a medium-sized book. He saw it was something about Greek and Roman sculptures. "Ah'll just get this one. Ah keep going back to it."

Taking it from her hands, he studied the book, flipping through the pages. "Looks like a good one. T'ink I'll have to borrow it some time." He handed it back to her and the moved to the nearest cash register.

After completing the purchase, they headed outside and descended the museum's identifying steps. There were still quite a few people milling about. It took a few minutes but Remy was able to hail a cab and instructed the driver to head to _Serendipity 3_. He figured they probably could have walked but given the late hour, hitching a ride seemed like a good idea.

A few minutes later, they were dropped off at the entrance of the restaurant. Entering through the door, Rogue stopped to look at the gift counter they walked straight into as Remy headed towards the hostess.

"Table for two, _s'il vous plait_," he requested, flashing her a smile.

She smiled back. "Can I have your name?"

"Remy."

"Well, Remy, if you don't mind a little five minute wait, I can get you seated."

"_Merci, mademoiselle._"

He smiled again and added a wink, seeing the beginnings of a faint blush creep into her cheeks. Turning away, he heard the hostess giggle a little. He smirked to himself. It was nice to know that he could give himself a small ego boost every now and again. Rogue noticed his facial expression and gave him a curious look.

"Five minutes," he relayed.

It didn't really answer her unspoken question but she let it slide for now. She continued to look around.

"Remy? Your table is ready."

They headed towards the hostess, Rogue trailing a bit behind Remy. Rogue noticed that the hostess gave Remy a warm smile and then stiffened a little when her gaze caught who his companion was. Now Rogue understood what the smirk had been about earlier. Following the hostess, she noticed that the area they were being led to held rather intimate seating arrangements, meaning the tables were not spaced too far from each other. As they sat, the hostess appeared to hesitate a bit before placing their menus down.

"Enjoy your evening," she said hurriedly before scurrying away.

"Remy! What did you do to the poor gal?"

He held up his hands in defense. "Not'in'! Jus' smiled at her. What did you do?"

"Apparently, Ah'm guilty of being your dinner companion," she answered with a raised brow.

He just shrugged and flipped his menu. They both noticed the piece of paper taped near the dessert listings. With lightning speed, Rogue's hand snatched the paper and she looked at what was written on it. Her face filled with mirth as she looked for the hostess. Spying her, she could see the girl was mortified. She gave her a grin and handed the paper to Remy.

"Well, sugah, your smiled earned ya a name and number."

Chuckling a bit, he made a show of placing the paper in his wallet. Rogue eyed the hostess again and she could see visible relief cross her face.

"Y' know, _chére_, y' could've made it more fun by bein' de jealous girlfriend," he told her, looking over the menu selections.

"No need to stroke ya ego anymore than ya already have. Besides, the girl looked ready to die of embarrassment. Maybe if she was bein' overconfident Ah could have been enticed to knock her down a peg or two." She looked at her own menu, trying to narrow down a selection.

They continued chatting and it wasn't long before they had ordered, received their food and were ready for dessert. Not needing to see the dessert selections again, they both ordered a Frozen Hot Chocolate, Remy the regular and Rogue the peanut butter version. It was what the restaurant was known for after all. When the two large goblets arrived, they both dug in with gusto.

"Ah've been wanting to come here ever since that movie _Serendipity_ came out," Rogue shared as she alternated between sipping her drink through the straw and taking spoonfuls. "Thank ya for indulging me."

"Y' welcome. Wouldn't have known about it if it wasn' f'r y' so t'ank y'." He had found this particular quirk about her quite endearing. Their trip to _Gray's Papaya_ had been inspired by a movie as well.

"Have ya talked to Belle lately?" Rogue asked.

Remy shook his head. "_Non_. Left a message yesterday. Haven' heard from her yet."

"Yeah, me either. She must be real busy."

"I guess." He poked at his drink with his spoon and changed the subject. "So when y' wan' go explore de school?"

"We can wait 'til Scott gets back. Ah figure between the both of ya Ah can learn the ins and outs real quick." Her brow furrowed. "Should Ah take the couch when he comes in?"

"Why?"

"Well, since Belle only has one really huge bed, Ah figure y'all can share the room and no one has to sleep on the floor."

"How 'bout we all share de bed?" he propositioned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"But wouldn't ya feel left out when Scott and Ah make out all night?"

Remy choked a little on his drink. "Ha ha. Very funny, _chére_."

* * *

D15 . . . D17 . . . D20 . . .

Her eyes darted from left to right, searching for D24. Thankfully, the room numbers were displayed next to the door as well as on them. Almost all of the doors she passed were wide open. Boxes littered the hallway and people were moving all over the place. Stopping momentarily, she shifted the box in her hands to get a better grip. Finally arriving at her destination, she saw this door was one of the few that was not wide open. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pushed the door open . . .

. . . and was completely shocked by what she saw.

Two incredibly hot guys were sitting in the room, one on the bed and one on the floor, unpacking boxes.

Confused, she looked at the door. It said D24. She had memorized her welcome kit to the letter. She knew this was the room she was assigned. She looked at the sight in front of her again.

"Um, is this your room?"

Scott and Remy looked up at the voice. A rather perplexed looking girl looked back at them.

Remy stood from the bed. "Hi, I'm Remy. Dis is Scott. We live across de hall."

A little dumbfounded, Kitty just looked at them.

Scott stood as well and walked over to her. "Here, let me get that for you." He lifted the box from her arms and placed down at the first free spot he could find.

Shaken from her blatant staring, Kitty smiled brightly, trying to hide her nervousness. "Thanks. I'm Kitty. I'm supposed to be Rogue's roommate. I guess you guys are friends?"

"Yeah," Remy answered. "Rogue's in de bathroom, unpacking."

At that moment, Rogue stepped back in the room. "Is it lunchtime yet? Ah'm starvin'." She looked at the door and saw Kitty. "Hey! You my new roomie?" she asked, heading over to her.

Kitty hoped her eyes were not bugging out. Rogue was beautiful. The sweat shorts and T-shirt she was wearing did not make her look scrubby in the least. She was taller than Kitty, and looked very in shape. Even the exotic hair coloring added to her attractiveness.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Kitty."

"Nice to meet ya! Ah'm Rogue." She held her hand out and Kitty accepted the handshake. "You met the guys?"

"I did, thanks." She looked at the three of them. "So, where are you guys from?" she asked conversationally. Immediately noticing accents, her curiosity was piqued.

"Ah'm originally from Mississippi but have been livin' in New Orleans since Ah was eight or so. That's how Ah met Remy. Then Remy moved and met Scott," Rogue answered first.

"I'm originally from Alaska," Scott added.

So that's why he doesn't have an accent, Kitty thought. "So you guys met in Alaska?"

"France, act'ally," Remy clarified. "Our father's jobs brought us dere."

"Wow! That's so awesome!" Kitty exclaimed. "I'm from Illinois. I haven't met anyone from where you guys are from before."

"Well now you have," Rogue said with a smile. "Do you need any help with your stuff?"

Kitty waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you don't have to. My parents are here to help me out."

"Think how much faster it will be with the three of us helpin' ya out," Rogue insisted.

Remy looked at Scott. Scott just shrugged.

"Well," Kitty said slowly, "it really isn't that much . . ."

* * *

Remy pushed the cart carrying the last of Kitty's stuff, silently cursing the gentleman in him. Somehow, he hadn't equated 'it really isn't that much' with requiring four trips to the car, even with six people helping. Four trips across a full parking lot and up four floors. Looking at the contents of the cart, he wasn't sure if Kitty realized that she was just going to college, not relocating to a third world country. Rogue was fortunate to have packed light; many of Kitty's belongings were likely to spill onto her side of the room.

"I don't think I've ever heard someone speak so quickly."

Remy looked at Scott and followed his gaze to Kitty. She had been talking non-stop and had tuned her out two trips ago.

"Mus' be one o' her special abilities," Remy mused jokingly. He looked to see how Rogue was keeping up. From what he could tell, she seemed to be listening politely, no hint of annoyance in her body language.

Scott must have sensed the same thing. "At least Rogue seems to be able to keep up with her. Think she'll be able to tolerate living with it?"

"I t'ink so. Rogue's a good listener but I'm sure she could nip it in de bud if need be." As they neared the girls' room, Remy's stomach growled again. This time he cursed Rogue's penchant for being helpful. "_Dieu_, if we don' eat soon, my stomach's gon' start attackin' me."

Rogue glanced back at him, completely unnoticed by Kitty as she continued to rattle on about some special math hat she had bought. Apparently, she had heard his comment as the look on her face was apologetic and understanding. Remy remembered that she had said she was hungry right before she offered their help. He tried to look like a weak and starving man under her gaze. Apparently, it was not have the desired effect as Rogue looked at him quizzically and turned back around.

"I don't know what look you are going for but you look like you're constipated," Scott informed him. Two mildly attractive girls walked by and caught the tail end of what Scott said. Remy immediately straighten as they looked in his direction and giggled as they passed.

"Gee, t'anks."

Reaching the room they filed in one by one, dropping the contents of their arms where ever there was room. Remy left the cart outside the door and unloaded the boxes one by one.

"Thank you so much for your help!" Kitty's mother spoke up. "It's comforting to know that Kitty will be in the company of such nice people."

Rogue smiled warmly. "It's our pleasure ma'am. Ah'm fortunate to have Remy an' Scott here, but Ah know it's a little scary bein' away from home. Us newbie's gotta stick together." She emphasized her point by slinging and arm around her roommate's shoulders.

Stick together? Remy hadn't really thought about another person joining their little group. A tiny stab of possessiveness flared in him but he tried to dismiss it. O'course Rogue has to make new friends. Can' keep her all to y'self. She gon' meet lots of people. Prob'ly meet lots of guys . . . go out on dates . . . maybe show off her leather bra . . . Remy shook the thoughts out of his brain as a feeling of discomfort washed over him. He refocused on what Rogue was saying after hearing her mention lunch.

" . . . so we were going to head out and find somethin' to eat. We'd love to have y'all join us," Rogue said.

"Actually, we had lunch right before we arrived here. But thanks for the invite! I think I'm just going to hang out here with my parents and unpack a little. They're staying for a couple of days so we were going to go sightseeing and stuff. I'll be staying with them at their hotel before they leave so I want to, like, get stuff out of your way a little," Kitty answered.

Remy did a silent cheer in his head at what Kitty said. He didn't dislike the girl but a little break from her would be nice as he figured she could go from sweet to annoying rather quickly, at least, from his perspective. He had a feeling they'd probably be seeing a lot of each other as the school year progressed. Seeing her in small doses at first would help ease the transition, and train his patience.

"All right. We'll if we don't see y'all later, it was a pleasure meetin' ya." Rogue stepped up to Kitty's parents and shook their hands. Remy and Scott followed suit. Saying their good-byes, Remy quickly exited the room, followed by Scott and then Rogue, who had grabbed her purse. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Rogue apologized.

"Ah'm sorry for draggin' ya both into that. Lunch is on me." She linked arms with them as they walked into the elevator.

Scott shrugged. "No problem. She was nice. Kind of talked fast, though."

"Yeah, nice," Remy echoed. "Who knew she'd have dat much stuff?" He was still a bit bewildered about what all those boxes could contain.

"Ah thought she was cute. An' sweet," Rogue stated. The elevator opened and they stepped out. Rogue unlinked her arms and fished for her keys in her purse. "So where we going?" she asked.

"_Harry's,_" they answered in unison.

Rogue deflated. "Again?" _Harry's_ was a little sports bar and grille about twenty minutes away from the dorms. She thought it was a good place and she loved the atmosphere. But they had gone there for lunch practically every other day since Scott got back. "Can't we try somethin' different?" she asked, pouting a bit.

Both men shook their heads.

"Please?" she pleaded, pouting a little more and batting her eyes a bit.

Scott faltered a bit. "Well . . ."

Remy quickly stepped in front of his friend and gripped him on the shoulders. "_Non_! Stay strong! Remember, dey got your fav'rite whisky barbecue burger wit' bacon and garlic fries!" Scott looked from Remy to Rogue, who was pouting, batting her eyes and now had her hands clasped under her chin.

"Uh . . ."

"Scott, you know _Southern Comfort_ has the BEST hushpuppies."

"Garlic fries! Garlic FRIES!"

"They have your favorite bread pudding!"

"Chocolate an' caramel milkshakes!"

"Ah'll spoon feed ya the bread pudding an' let you lick the whipped cream off my fingers!"

"I got pictures of Emma in de shower!"

"Ah'll model the lingerie Belle put in my suitcase!"

"WHAT?!" Scott and Remy exclaimed. Remy whirled around, visions of Rogue in a leather bra jumping to the forefront of his mind.

Rogue grinned innocently.

"Okay," Scott blurted out, causing Rogue to brighten.

Remy looked back at his friend and glared hard.

"_Harry's_ it is," Scott clarified, shaking his head in defeat.

Rogue sighed and threw her hands up in the air. "Fine!" She turned around and made a beeline for her car.

Remy started to follow. Scott fell into step next to him and leaned in. "Can't we give in just once? That was the best offer yet!" Every time they suggested _Harry's_ they went through this.

"Remember, we're holdin' out for de whipped cream bikini," reminded Remy. He was fairly certain the offer would never come through, but there was no way he was going to let Rogue follow through on whatever she put on the table. No matter how temptin', he thought, as the leather bra flashed through his mind once more.

A.N.

Hi! I'm trying to get back on track with this story here. Kind of lost my direction so I apologize if this chapter doesn't flow with the rest.


	17. Chapter 17

So, yeah, it's been a while . . .

I did go back and review my story and saw that all of the formatting is not what it used to be. That sucks.

Anyhow, enjoy! And thank you so much for all of the encouraging reviews!

**Chapter 17**

Scott woke to see Remy climbing into bed. A quick glance at the clock indicated that it was 4AM. Their first class for today didn't start until 9 so there was definitely more time to sleep.

"Nightmare?"

"Yeah," Remy responded, his words muffled under his blankets. Reaching out, he flipped the baby monitor on his nightstand back on.

The idea of using a baby monitor had come to Scott one night over dinner. The three of them, Scott, Remy and Rogue, had been discussing Rogue's night terror situation and how it would be best to handle. At the time she'd only had one episode since arriving in New York but Remy figured that wouldn't be the case once they all moved back to the dorms. He was quite concerned about having to rely on Rogue's roommate in those situations, especially since he would likely be unable to hear when it was happening. That is when Scott had suggested the monitor. Remy was a light enough sleeper that he should be able to hear and be roused from slumber. The dilemma this now presented was how to get to Rogue once he heard what was happening. They all agreed it was not a good idea for Rogue to leave her door unlocked. This meant that either Remy needed to have a key to Rogue's room or they'd have to rely on her roommate to take care of things. That decision would have to be made once the new roommate had been informed of Rogue's issue.

When they had first met Kitty, they didn't have a chance to tell her right away since she was out with her parents. For those few days, Rogue decided she would give Remy her key every night just in case. Fortunately, he had only needed it for one night. Once Kitty returned and was told, she told them that she, too, was a relatively light sleeper and could probably let Remy in when necessary. The first test run was Kitty's fourth night at the school. True to her assessment, she was able to get up in time to let Remy in. She had silently observed the situation, taking mental notes of how Rogue was reacting and how Remy handled it. Over the next few weeks she noticed the varied intensities of the terrors and figured she could give the comfort thing a try on some of the less serious ones.

It wasn't difficult for Scott to deduce that last night's episode, or this morning's depending on how you look at it, had required his roommate's assistance. At least the number of episodes had decreased, probably because they had been in school for a while now.

Kitty felt for her roommate and Remy. She was sure it couldn't be easy to watch someone you care about have such awful nightmares and not be able to do anything about it. And it would certainly freak her out to wake up every so often with puffy eyes and tearstained cheeks without a clue as to how it happened. It was apparent that Remy could provide a comfort that she could not. Rogue always seemed to calm down faster when he was there.

That always brought Kitty to another point: how was it possible that these two were not together? For the life of her, she could not figure it out. Sure there was Belle. Kitty had met the girl and she was nice but there was something about her that just rubbed her the wrong way. And, honestly, a person would have to surely be blind to not see the chemistry they had. The way they fed off each other was like the stuff out of the movies, like that movie _Serendipity_ or even _The Notebook_. Granted, she hadn't witnessed any fights between them but she was sure they both had enough passion to be the next Noah and Allie. Of course, it could be the romantic in her that kept thinking Remy and Rogue should be together. Whatever the reason, she was sure that the three of them didn't know what they were thinking and would probably need a little help in opening all of their eyes.

* * *

"So what's with them?"

Scott looked up from his notes. "Who?"

"Them."

His eyes followed the pointing pencil. Rogue and Remy sat a few tables away, looking to be engrossed in a staring contest. Seeing them like that was nothing new. He went back to his notes. "What about them?"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "What got them stuck in the 'just friends' boat?"

As luck would have it, he and Kitty shared a management information systems class. They were sitting in one of the dorm's common rooms, studying. She was obviously a whiz at the material as Scott used her notes to make sense of his. "Denial," he answered, not looking up.

"A blind man could see they're into each other." Kitty watched as Remy started to contort his face in an effort to make Rogue laugh and break her concentration. "If you know this, why don't you, like, do something about it?"

Scott snorted. "What do you want me to do? Play '_Kiss the Girl_' every time they enter a room together?"

Twirling a strand of hair around her finger absently, she saw Rogue dissolve into silent giggles. "Sure, why not?"

"Yeah, because that would go over well."

"Won't know unless you try it."

He put his pencil down. "For your information, I have been _trying to, like, help them_," he said, using her words.

"Really? What are you doing? Trying to will them together with the power of your mind?" she asked, almost emphasizing the sarcasm in her voice.

"Yeah right. If I had mind powers, I wouldn't waste it on something like that," he retorted. "Besides, they need to figure it out for themselves. I could spell it out for Remy until I was blue in the face and he still wouldn't get it."

"So what exactly are you doing? Whatever it is, I'm not seeing it."

Scott leaned over in a conspiratorial manner. "I'm trying to make Remy jealous."

Kitty looked at him, a blank look on her face.

Rolling his eyes, Scott tried to elaborate. "You notice how Remy gets all bent out of shape any time the idea of Rogue and some other guy is brought up?"

She nodded slightly, the blank look still on her face.

"Well, I figure, the more he gets jealous, the sooner he'll realize why he's jealous and that he's really in love with Rogue."

Kitty laughed, effectively removing the triumphant look from Scott's face. "That's your master plan? No wonder they haven't figured it out yet. Have you forgotten that they both blame Remy's behavior on the whole 'brother/sister' thing?" She patted his arm sympathetically. "You are a very smart guy but you are simply a Padawan Learner in the matchmaker department."

Scott raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Oh really? And what does that make you?"

"Like, duh. Jedi Master, of course." Leaning back in her chair, she continued to play with her hair but her features transformed into a look of deep thought. "The jealously thing is a good start but we need to do more. Why don't you take her out on a date or set her up or something? You know, so he gets all freaked out and stuff even more. I'll work on Rogue. Remy is getting all these feelings worked up in him but Rogue is completely clueless. Then we need to get them together as much as possible . . ."

"They already spend time together," Scott interrupted. "How's that going to do anything?"

"Like, in a romantic way. Sure, they hang out and stuff but they need to do more boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. Maybe we could go on double dates or something. What do you think? You game?"

"I guess. What about Belle, though?"

"Is there anything you know about her? Like bad stuff? Or not so good stuff? We have to, like, point out her flaws without looking like we're insulting her. Oh! And if there's anything that you think Remy would want to take Belle to, you have to make it so he takes Rogue instead."

Scott stroked his chin in thought. "I think I could work with that." He glanced over at his friends and hesitated. "You don't think this is weird or immature? I mean, we're in college for Pete's sake."

"Oh, get over it. You can't tell me you actually like the idea of Remy and Belle together."

"Point." Belle was nice enough but she had not given him a reason to like her. It was annoying that she seemed to blow Remy off all the time.

"Besides, you said so yourself, you've been trying to get them together. Don't worry. I don't think it makes you less manly. I think it's sweet." Kitty smiled encouragingly.

"Alright," Scott conceded. "But if anyone asks, you put a gun to my head and made me do it."

* * *

"So, who's the hottest guy you know in real life?"

Kitty and Rogue were hanging out in their room, unwinding from a long day of classes. Kitty was leaning against the pillows on her bed, perusing the latest issue of _Cosmo_ while Rogue was laying on her stomach on her own bed, nose buried in her latest purchase from a nearby bookstore.

Rogue looked up from her book and scrunched her face in thought. "Hottest guy Ah know in real life? Hmmmm."

"It's got to be Remy, right?" Kitty asked, not looking up from her magazine.

Rogue blinked. "Remy?" she murmured out loud. Her eyes took on a faraway look as she thought about her best guy friend. She had to admit, he was a very attractive man. His eyes, his smile, his body. Thinking back to their road trip over the summer, she didn't notice the faint blush coloring her cheeks. There had been several instances where Rogue had been exposed to the glory of Remy's body. Her memory focused on the image of Remy getting out of the hot tub.

Kitty smiled gleefully at her roommate. "It is him isn't it!" she practically squealed. "I knew it! Can't say I blame you. I think he and Scott are the hottest guys I know in real life."

"Really? I thought you would have said that foreign exchange student."

"Who? Kurt? Nah. We're just buds. I'm actually trying to set him up with my friend Amanda."

Rogue had met Amanda on a couple of occasions and liked the girl. "Ah like her. She's nice."

"Totally," Kitty agreed. "I think she might have a small crush on Kurt already." Not wanting to lose track of her original question, she continued to prod. "So back to my question, who do you think? Was I right? Is it Remy?"

Rogue sighed inwardly. She knew the girl would not relent until she gave her a decent answer. "Ah guess Ah'd share your answer. Ah think Ah'm a little biased, though, because I can't not factor in their personalities. "

"Who cares? It's a simple question that requires only a simple answer." She closed the magazine to engage more fully into their conversation. "How are him and Belle doing anyway? I haven't seen her around much."

"She's been busy, Ah suppose. Ah haven't heard from her since she got here. Apparently, she got put on some traveling troupe so she hasn't been in town."

Aw, too bad, so sad. "So she's not going to be around for Halloween?" Kitty asked, masking her hope.

Rogue shook her head. "Nope. Ah think she's not slated to return until right around Thanksgiving."

Perfect! "Well, that's too bad. Scott was telling me that one of the frats here throws an awesome Halloween party and said we should all go. Have you decided what you dress up as yet?" She saw her roommate make a face.

"No. Ah haven't given it much thought, with school and all. Any suggestions? And please don't say French maid."

Kitty gave her a weird look. "Why would I say that? I do think you should wear something sexy, though. You totally have a hot bod. Oh! Check out this costume I saw online. I bookmarked it because I thought it'd be good for you." She opened her laptop and navigated to the page while Rogue came to sit by her on the bed.

"Kit! That looks like underwear!" Rogue exclaimed. The costume was named Carnival Mardi Gras Queen. It was essentially a purple bra and panty combo with green trim and gold coin-shaped accents. The bottom had a piece of material hanging down the back, covering the backside area.

"So what? You could soooo pull that off. Probably better than the model in the picture. It would be unique, too. You know there's going to be bunch of naughty nurses, naughty school girls and the like." Kitty scrolled through the website, trying to find alternatives.

Rogue scanned through the images over Kitty's shoulder. "What are you going to be?"

"I was thinking of being a Greek goddess type. I saw this costume that I really liked." She pulled up an image of a short, pleated goddess costume. Rogue liked the costume instantly.

"That would look great on you! Are you going to wear your hair all curly? Ah can help you with that. And I have some gold jewelry that would look really good with it."

"Yeah! That would be totally awesome." She brought up another image on the screen. "How about this one?"

Rogue shook her head. "That looks like the one you showed me before but in black and with fairy wings."

* * *

"So, we going to the Halloween party this year?" Scott inquired as he bit into his sandwich. They were at one of the campus eateries, grabbing lunch between classes. Kitty had let him know that she'd gotten Rogue to go, and had given him a run down of Rogue's costume options. "You can invite Belle," he offered, knowing full well that she was not going to be around.

"Belle ain' goin' to be here for Halloween. Won' be home 'til Thanksgivin'." Remy took a sip of his drink. "I don' know if I'm gonna go this year."

Scott rolled his eyes to himself. He knew Remy had been feeling put off since Belle had been out of touch and any mention of her put him in a sort of funk. "Come on, man! You know how many cute girls will be there?"

Remy smirked. "Y'r jus' hopin' that Emma will be dere."

"Actually, I'm taking Kitty and Rogue."

Remy nearly choked on his meal. "Excuse me?"

"Well, Kitty says she and Rogue are going. She asked if we were going. She said it would make her more comfortable if we were there so I said I'd go."

Remy stopped mid-bite. "More comfortable?"

"You know, because it's a frat party and all." He looked down and was suddenly very interested in his meal. "And, she's, ahem, she's worried a little about the attention Rogue's costume may get." He ventured a look at Remy's face and almost laughed at the warring emotions he saw across his face.

"An' why is dat?"

"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me what they were dressing up as."

Remy shook his head, trying to get the images of drunk, grabby college guys all over someone he didn't want them to be all over.

"Just come. You can be Rogue's date or bodyguard or whatever." Scott watched his friend try to feign nonchalance.

"Sure, sounds like fun. Party was a blast last year."

Mission accomplished. "So you dressing up like a bodyguard or just going to force Rogue to wear a chastity belt?"


End file.
